Securing Insecurities
by jlbassmaster
Summary: Hope and Snow begin to form a special kind of friendship in the aftermath of their visit to Palumpolom. Snow x Hope, Rated M
1. Stage 1 His Saving Grace

_Introduction: This is my first fanfic, so I am very excited about it. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I have been enjoying writing it. I always welcome constructive criticism as well as recommendations of other people's stories so by all means please keep in contact! :) I also want to extend a huge thank you to G-AnakinRPG for being my Beta - a lot of work was put into making sure I didn't suck my first time out. :)_

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**Securing Insecurities**

_**Stage One**__ - His Saving Grace_

Hope sat on the couch in his home in Felix Heights, Palumpolum. His father did not speak, but only made light sobs as he held his head in his hands, mourning his wife, Nora Estheim. Hope hadn't exactly broken the news gently - declaring that she was gone the moment his father opened the front door. Shock spread quickly over his face, his legs shaking, his palms sweating and a sudden panic seemed to surge through his veins. It was actually Lightning who stepped inside to steady the man, this strange woman not even seeming a concern as his only thoughts were that his wife was dead and his son was home. Fang half dragged Snow in, Hope pointing the way to his bedroom where Fang slung the heavy man onto the soft bed. Hope sat down quietly next to his father, silence stilling the room. The lack of sound made Lightning uncomfortable, but she felt uncertain about leaving Hope alone with his father just yet. It wasn't that she feared something may happen, but rather that she knew Hope looked to her as a pillar of strength, and just her presence in the room would bring him security.

Fang considered poking her head into the living room to ask where the bathroom and medical kit were, but the silence was stifling, so she decided to seek on her own. Two open doors and a light switch later, she stood in the bathroom, rummaging about the cabinets. "Hmm. Potions - ew, expired last month. Ah, there's a fresh one. Bandages, gauze, ointments, and... what the hell is this?" she exclaimed as she held up something that later she would discover to be a tubular replacement for menstrual pads. On Pulse they just used fabric that they washed in the river. Cocoon seemed a little less inviting after this new discovery. She returned to Snow in the other room.

"Open up, big boy," Fang teased in her deep Pulsian accent as she offered the tonic to the man. Snow rolled his eyes but complied, sitting on the side of Hope's bed. Fang watched him chug down the potion, grimacing at the bitter taste.

"You couldn't have at least found cherry flavor?" Snow joked.

"I could have just pissed in it for you but I thought that might be a little tasteless. Now take off your shirt and don't get excited." Snow complied, tossing his coat on the floor, followed by his shirt. Fang rolled her eyes; men could be so messy, just throwing things all over the place. She surprised Snow with her gentle touch as she cleaned off his wounds and wrapped his torso tightly with bandages and gauze.

"Hope's finally talking to his dad. Figured it was okay to split. The tension was getting thick," Lightning spoke softly as she entered Hope's room. She looked around , seeing the room of a typical fourteen year old boy. A poster for a rock band on one wall, a collection of various sized and shaped boomerangs on shelves on another wall. A dresser with drawers half open, obviously hurriedly stuffed with now wrinkled clothes. The only light came from a lamp on the bedside table on which sat a ragged looking book titled _The Ancient Art of Throwing. _She sat on the edge of the bed, addressing Snow.

"Before you two get all squishy talking with one another, I'm checking into the shower for a bit. Catch you kids later." Fang waved herself away back to the bathroom.

Hope had finished talking with his dad, their strained relationship only slightly bandaged by this newly found despair. Bartholomew Estheim still held his face in his hands, muffled sobs broke the silence, tears dripping from between his fingers. Hope had attempted to dismiss himself to his room once already, but ended up only talking more. This time he simply stated he needed to rest, and silently slipped out of the room. Once around the corner he let out a deep sigh that he hadn't realized he had been holding back. He wiped the tears from his eyes, sniffled, and stood outside his door, listening intently to Lightning and Snow. His eyes shot open with he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Not nice to eavesdrop. But it is tempting, isn't it?" Fang scolded jokingly. She gave a half smile and stood there a moment, listening in as well. "Sounds like they're finished making peace. Now it's your turn, kid." Hope gave her the look of a chocobo caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. Hope shook his head. "You and Vanille are just the same. Always holding it in and never getting it out," she sighed. "You kids will learn one day."

Lightning came out of Hope's room, a half smile on her face. She and Snow had finally gotten things settled out for now, a weight lifted off of her shoulders. Wanting to avoid the uncomfortable silence of being around Bartholomew, the two women retreated to the kitchen. Fang gave Hope a little push toward the open door as she caught up with Lightning.

Hope pushed the door open the rest of the way, looking at Snow laying on his bed, shirtless and bandaged. Snow looked at the ceiling, feeling nervous about the young man's presence.

"How's your dad?" he asked. Hope just shook his head.

"He's gonna be okay. He always is. As long as he's okay, that's all that matters to him. He doesn't care what I feel," Hope blurted out. Snow didn't say anything - it wasn't his place to try and convince the kid differently. He didn't know their past - he had made the mistake of convincing others that their families loved them only to discover later that things were much worse than he was even told. For all he knew, Hope and his father could have an abusive relationship that was simply hidden from public view, though Snow really felt that could not be the case.

"Snow?" Snow nodded and closed his eyes, still facing the ceiling. "Thank you. For saving me I mean. I... I tried to kill you and you still protected me. I can't..."

Snow turned his head to look at the weary young man and gave one of his half smiles. His eyes softened, capturing the look of the confused boy as if to say that everything was alright. He started to speak, but Hope placed a finger on his lips. "Please, let's not... I want... No, I need..." His words were scattered; he wanted Snow to know he was trying to forgive him, that he was actually beginning to understand him. Snow understood, and sat up, pulling the boy into a hug. Hope was not a huggy person - he had shoved Vanille off of him on more than one occasion, but it felt so good to feel Snow's big, strong arms wrap around him, holding him tight in apology and reassurance. Hope could have stayed there forever. It was Snow who finally broke the embrace.

"Hey, do you think I could get washed up? I feel disgusting, and between you and me, I wasn't about to let Fang haul my ass into the shower. She's a little rough," Snow laughed. Hope nodded and pointed Snow to the bathroom. Hope left him alone to go find some towels and grab the med kit to re-wrap his bandages.

Hope lightly knocked on the bathroom door and announced himself.

"Come on in, Hope. It's okay," Snow said over the rush of water from the shower head. Hope slid the door open to find Snow, naked as the day he was born. He was facing the wall, so all that Hope could see was his nicely toned and smooth butt and muscled back.

"Oh! Uh sorry! I didn't realize..." Hope stuttered but Snow just laughed. He averted his eyes away from the sight of Snow's tanned body as the man stepped into the shower.

"It's no big deal, we're both guys. If it had been Light or Fang, Serah would jump right out of crystal stasis and kicked their asses right on the spot!" he chuckled at the thought.

"Yeah, that would be really awk-" Hope stopped mid-sentence as he saw Snow turn in the shower, getting a frontal and then side view of the grown man's body. The steam hid most of him from view, but the silhouette was enough to show off his body. "-ward," he finished his sentence. Luckily for him, Snow was washing his hair and didn't hear him stammer his words. Hope turned and put his hand on the door when Snow spoke up again.

"Hey, hold on. Can you help me fix these bandages again?" Hope nodded even though he probably couldn't be seen in the steam. Snow shut off the shower, grabbed one of the towels that Hope had brought in, and proceeded to dry off. The steam on the shower doors was fading and Hope tried to avert his eyes from watching as Snow dried off his crotch before wrapping the towel around his waist. Stepping out of the shower, Hope could see the bruising and abrasions that had previously been covered up when he had seen Snow laying down. The bruising was pretty bad - dark purple and black areas on his chest, his ribs obviously very tender as he winced while brushing himself off some more. Snow was so tall that he had to sit down on the edge of the toilet seat so that Hope could reach his chest. He gingerly rubbed ointment over his muscles, rubbing it in so that it would absorb into his skin; it was partially a painkiller and partially a cure-all.

"Ahh that feels so good," Snow sighed as Hope rubbed his chest. Neither was honestly sure if Snow was feeling the sensations of the painkiller, or the sensations that shot through Snow's body as Hopes gentle, almost feminine hands brushed over his nipples. Hope finished putting on the ointment and wrapped up his chest with the gauze and bandages.

"Thanks, kiddo." Snow smiled at him, picking up his pants off the floor. Just as Hope was turning to leave, he got one last glimpse of Snow's bare ass as he dropped the towel to put on his boxer shorts. It was then that Hope noticed the tingling down below, but was at a loss as to why he was feeling slightly aroused.

An hour later, Bartholomew sent Hope to ask Lightning and Snow to come to the living room. When Hope came into his bedroom, Snow was just finishing up polishing Hope's Airwing boomerang. Snow smiled and handed it to him.

"Thanks, Snow. It looks as good as new. Even if it does have a few notches chipped into it." He fingered the now smooth weapon, clicked it open and closed a couple of times to test the newly lubricated hinged. "Oh, my dad wants to talk to you. Both of you." Snow and Lightning exchanged nervous looks, Hope helping Snow put his coat back on. He ambled out of the room, followed by Lightning. She turned just as she got to the door.

"You know, a good fighter needs a well cared for weapon. Snow must think a lot of you to do that - he won't even wipe off my saber, let alone polish it." She smiled. "Don't let your head get too big, though. You may have improved, but you still got a ways to go."

"Thanks, Light." Hope grinned to himself. Finally, a little bit of recognition from the person who seemed to have judged him so harshly in the beginning.


	2. Stage 2  The Eidolon

**Securing Insecurities**

_**Stage 2 **__- The Eidolon_

After the events in Palumpolum, things got very intense rather quickly. An invasion of troops forced Bartholomew to submit himself to the fugitives, his own son tying the ropes in fact. He knew it was only a ruse for his own safety; Hope had been right about the danger of sheltering l'Cie. If PSICOM thought for even a moment that he was aiding them in any fashion, he would either be purged to Pulse immediately, or killed. Hope and his dad barely began to attempt a relationship at this point, but Hope still didn't want to see his own father fall at the hands of PSICOM. He was still family. It would be a lie, however, to say that for a second Hope did think that if his dad was killed, at least he would be with Nora once again. That morbid thought quickly vanished - death did not bring any sense of happiness.

Shortly after their rescue from the Guardian Corps, the four l'Cie boarded the airship _Palamecia_ to retrieve their friends. Fang was ready to destroy all of Cocoon to get Vanille back, their relationship coming into question more than once. Sister, best friend, lover, whatever they were, Fang was hardcore dedicated and nobody wanted to stand in her way. Hope noticed the similarity of the look in both Fang's, and Snow's eyes. He could see their loss and determination. Fang was slightly scarier, however, as the look in her eyes was always one of danger and ruthlessness at even the slightest mention of Vanille in danger. Snow's eyes showed more of a confused sadness and excitement and just a little bit of recklessness.

The _Palamecia_ was a terrifying experience in itself. Even the most secure of people would be afraid of the heights they were jumping from, and the constant barrage of soldiers didn't help things along. Probably the worst part of the ordeal was when Vanille and Fang subdued a flying _thing_ that quickly tore open a hole in the side of the ship and dumped them into it. Well, actually they jumped, but what sane person would admit to that?

The defeat of Barthandelus was a short-lived victory as the fal'Cie all but forced the group to retreat in an airship with a deadly desire to kill them all - or so they thought. Instead it brought them to the Fifth Ark, where Fang tamed the mighty Bahamut. A blessing, really, since the moment they arrived in the skies of Gran Pulse they were once again hurtling to their deaths from thousands of feet in the air as a Pulse fal'Cie decided to make an unwanted introduction by placing its tail into the side of the airship. Bahamut came to their rescue; Hope was grateful, however, he still wanted to bonk Vanille on the head for having the gall to ask him if he were all right as they were falling through the sky.

It was their arrival on Gran Pulse that brought about Hope's despair.

Vallis Media was a beautiful place to bid farewell to their draconic savior; it was a safe place to rest as there were no threats in the immediate area and high cliffs surrounded them, the only entrances into valley being 'hallways' of rock which could be blocked by ancient wreckage. They need the rest after a long days work - or was it two? Time was difficult to keep up with on such a hectic journey.

"This place is beautiful," Lightning remarked. "Deadly too."

"How do you know, anyway? None of you have been here. Vanille and I grew up here; we survived, it couldn't have been that bad!" Fang announced crossly. She was really getting tired of their constant remarks about how dangerous Gran Pulse was. Vanille pretty much ignored it, as usual. "Bah! Snow, come with me and scout the area, we need to be sure we can camp here." She was annoyed, but having spent the most time with Snow, she could tolerate him the best. She could already tell Sazh was a talker - she might drown him in the river if he kept on.

"Good idea. Sazh and I will see what we can use to set up camp. It's hot here so some shade would be nice," Lightning said. It was more of an order with a lighthearted tone, but Sazh was not about to argue. "Don't stray too far." She gave an almost motherly look at Hope and Vanille.

Ten minutes or so later, Vanille and Hope were by themselves. Vanille was lounging in the grass, the lush greenery was so soft and smelled so nice. She missed the smell of nature - five hundred years as a crystal would do that to a girl.

"Come on, Hope! Sit in the grass with me! Enjoy the scenery while we have the time," Vanille urged. Hope sat down for a minute but then stood back up. "What's wrong?"

"I'm gonna go find some food. I'm hungry," he said flatly. Vanille cocked her head, sensing his unease.

"I'll go with you! It will be fun!" Vanille was far too perky for him right about now and the last thing he felt like was talking and hearing her high-pitched voice go on about grass,

"No!" he blurted out. Noticing the hurt look on Vanille's face, he looked down sheepishly at his feet. "Sorry. I just need some time alone. I won't be long."

"Okay," Vanille replied, still hurt by his outburst. She liked Hope. He was a nice boy when he wanted to be - hiding a lot of pain inside of him, just like her. He was moodier about it though. Even still, she liked his company and found his youthful inexperience kind of charming. Everyone else looked at him as just a kid playing around with an oversized boomerang, but she saw him as a warrior in training. Well, maybe Lightning saw him in a better light, but the others didn't take him seriously. "At least take the chocobo with you to keep you company. You know, in case you need a friend."

Hope shook his head in compliance as the chocobo chick squeaked acceptance of his orders and perches itself on top of Hope's head. It had to feel strange sitting on smooth straight hair as opposed to Sazh's afro, but the chick seemed happy with his new ride. Hope sulked away, hands in his pockets as he made his way down the hall of cliffs. It was maybe a half-mile or so before he came across some tress with luscious looking fruit hanging from its branches. The little chick squeaked happily as it flew up and pecked at the stem of a large green melon, causing it to drop into Hope's waiting hands.

"Good job, chocobo," he said. The bird chirped happily and moved on to the next melon. About four melons later, the bird needed a break. Hope sat down and leaned up against the tree trunk, watching the little chocobo running over the melons like little beach balls.

He had started to realize just how alone he was when Vanille and Fang reunited on the ship, but of course none of them had any time to think about anything before their unexpected visitor with electrified wings and a nasty attitude. He closed his eyes and laid his head back, breathing lightly. He was the only one who really didn't have a purpose in this whole game. - nobody to fight for. Lightning and Snow were fighting to get Serah back. Fang and Vanille had each other, trying to piece together their past. Sazh was attempting to free his son from his own crystal prison. Even the little chocobo chick had purpose - to find his owner; Dajh, Sazh's son. Who did Hope have to fight for? His mother was dead - nothing he could do would change that. His father didn't really care, despite what he may have said back before the soldiers broke into their home. Did it really matter if he continued on? He was a liability, just like Lightning had said when the two of them were first setting off on their adventure, before she inadvertently summoned Odin. That's right, he was a liability to everyone, only there to get in everyone's way and be one more person to look out for. Tears started to stream down his face as these realizations began to settle into his head. He and his dad were both sad over the loss of Nora, but Hope knew that in the end it didn't matter if he returned home or not. His dad never cared about him; it was always about work. Nothing else mattered. He was definitely a momma's boy. She even showed him how to throw his first boomerang. His dad kept promising to teach him but... another day at the Estheim office and Nora got so annoyed with her husband that she finally took it upon herself to spend the time with Hope. That was why he didn't want his father with them at the fireworks in Bodhum. He didn't deserve to be there. He hadn't showed up for anything else (like the boomerang competition when he was twelve - he had won first place and his father barely noticed) so why should he get to spend this special night with he and his mother?

A sharp pain burst from Hope's wrist. His l'Cie brand was starting to glow bright yellow, the arrows visible even underneath his wristband. It was then that he passed out, sprawled out on his back, the glow of his brand pulsating. The chocobo chick chirped frantically, jumping onto Hope's chest and hopping up and down. When that didn't elicit a response, he started flying in circles over Hope's head, diving down near his ears and screeching. As a last resort the little chick pecked at his nose but to no avail. It closed its eyes when it noticed the glow of the l'Cie brand, hopping on it for only a second before the burning brand hurt its feet. Now the chocobo knew he needed help. He took wing immediately, following the path back to the campsite. Had their been any monsters, the little chick would have pecked its eyes out and kept on going. He was exhausted but frantic when he reached the campsite, everyone else now there, sitting on logs. It squealed as it fluttered around Fang's head and then pecked at Vanille's outstretched hand.

"What's up with the chocobo?" Sazh asked. "I never seen him that out of sorts. What's up little guy?"

"Oh no! He was with Hope! What if something's wrong?" Vanille cried. Before anyone else could protest, she leapt up off of the log, grabbed her Binding Rod off of her back holster clicking it open, and ran through the cliffs.

"Vanille! Wait!" Fang called, following with her staff. Lightning, surprisingly, outran Fang, her sword unsheathed, just behind Vanille and the chocobo. Snow and Sazh were not far behind. They covered ground quickly, though outran by the young redhead, they heard Vanille shriek before they were even two thirds of the way there.

"Hope! Wake up! Hope!" she cried out. She shook him by the shoulders, crying out his name. She even smacked him on the cheek to try and bring him to.

"Look, his brand!" Lightning exclaimed. Fang knelt down and picked up his wrist, yanking the wristband off and letting it drop to the ground. Lightning had knelt down next to her and gingerly touched the brand. "Leave it alone!" Fang declared. Lightning wasn't exactly fond of being told what to do, but now wasn't the time to get snippy with Fang.

Snow knelt down as well and managed to pull the boy into a sitting position, leaning him up against the tree trunk. It was then that Hope's eyes fluttered open.

"Wha- what happened? Why are you all here?" Hope questioned in a daze. Vanille pushed Snow aside, embracing Hope in a tight hug.

"We were so worried about you!" Vanille cried. "What happened?"

"My brand started to burn, and I felt myself pass out before I could even get up."

"You had the chocobo all worked up! He was worried too," she went on. He ignored her as Snow helped him up.

"So, kiddo, what's the big idea? Melon drop on your head?" Snow joked. Hope shot him a glare and Snow grinned at him. Hope couldn't help but soften his look at him.

"I... you... I have to stay behind. You need to go on without me. I'm too much of a liability, just like Light said." Everyone turned to stare at Lightning. For once she was embarrassed.

"I told you I was wrong about that! You've gotten tougher! We can't just leave you here, Hope. We are in this together," she stated.

"But that's what scares me. I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of me," he cried. Before anyone could argue, Hope let out a cry of pain, grabbing his wrist. It glowed brighter than ever, golden glyphs appearing under their feet. Beams of light shot into the air and in a bright blinding flash, before them stood a huge creature - an Eidolon.

"Hope! That's from inside of you! That's _your_ strength, you're not weak! Nobody could summon an Eidolon if they weren't powerful! You have to fight!" Fang shouted at him, almost angry at his lack of faith in himself, but still offering the boy her support.

The Eidolon stood tall before them, a gold and white soldier with blue accents staring down at them. It made no noise except for the soft hiss of steam from its joints as it began to move. The Eidolon's huge fist came down in front of them, the ground shaking, knocking everyone down. It began to lift its fist once more when there was a loud screech of metal on metal. Vanille had somehow snuck up behind it and cast her Binding Rod, the steel wires grabbing hold of the giant fist before it could slam down again. Hope got back to his feet and met eyes with the metallic beast.

"Come ON!" Hope shouted to the Eidolon. It seemed to nod at him, but before it could do anything Hope was already firing magic at it. Bursts of light lit up the twilight sky. Flashes of lightning, gushes of water, blazing fire, and shards of ice flew at the creature, one after another, Hope not pausing at all between as the spells he fired in quick succession. Within minutes, the Eidolon fell back, losing its ground. One word kept bursting into Hope's brain - Alexander.

"Alexander! Let's do this together!" Hope shouted as he stopped firing spells at what was now his ally. Alexander stood rigid before the party, pillars appearing in the sky and raining down. In what could only be described as flares of light and blasts of steam taking shapes and solidifying the giant soldier transformed itself into a huge barrier wall, shining with silver and gold. Hope climbed up onto the Eidolon. "Thanks, big guy. I needed your help." The Eidolon gave a slight nod as Hope jumped down and it fired itself back up into the sky and disappeared.

"That. Was. Amazing!" Vanille cheered, emphasis on each word. "I can't wait to get my own Eidolon! I hope it's as cool as yours." Lightning rolled her eyes and turned to Hope, smiling one of her rare smiles.

"Way to go, young man." Sazh shook his hand. "You really proved yourself there."

"No more doubts, Hope," Fang added. She gave him a half smile. Hope looked over at Snow, eyes glowing with pride and embarrassment. He was proud that Hope came out of his slump and was able to claim his Eidolon, but he was embarrassed that he ever doubted the young man's ability.

Hope felt weak after the exertion, but at the same time stronger. He must have fired off a hundred spells at Alexander, but he could feel the power of the crystal inside of him giving him the strength he needed. Hope sat down against the tree trunk and promptly fell asleep, the chocobo sitting on his shoulder, proud of his young friend.


	3. Stage 3 The Spring

_Once again I must thank G-AnakinRPG for his excellent beta skills. :) This chapter changed a lot for the better from his attention to detail. _

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**Securing Insecurities**

_**Stage 3 **__– The Spring_

Sulyya Springs was one of the most beautiful places in all of Gran Pulse, according to Vanille. Shortly after Hope tamed Alexander, the small group decided to keep moving forward m leaving Vallis Media. Their next stop was Sulyya Springs. Vanille bounced around happily as she described it to Hope and Sazh. Fang stayed a few yards behind them, talking with Snow and Lightning about crossing the upcoming Archylte Steppe – one of the most dangerous places on Gran Pulse.

"The Steppe is no joke, kids," Fang warned. "The creatures there are very dangerous. They make the beasts on Cocoon look like puppies." She took a deep breath, remembering some of the skirmishes she and Vanille had gotten into with a few of the creatures that were considered a lesser threat.

"We better keep a close eye on those three, then," Lightning decided. Fang nodded, but Snow was a little unsure as to why Sazh had been included in the group, He gave her a confused look that prompted an explanation. "We're seasoned fighters. Sazh isn't exactly the most skilled compared to us – I'm not sure he can handle the upcoming fights as well as we can."

"Oh get your nose out of the air, dear," Fang remarked rather sarcastically. "That man has held his own all this time. So have those kids. Vanille has more experience than either of you two or Sazh and Hope. Give her a little credit will you?" Lightning pretended not to hear anything to avoid admitting that Fang did have a valid point. Snow smiled inwardly; it wasn't often that he got to see Lightning get a little comeuppance.

Crossing the Steppe had been a very difficult task; Fang had not been joking when she said they were in for some tough fights. Upon entering the Steppe itself, mouths were agape as the vast, open plain blossomed before them. It really was too much to take in all at once – it seemed to go on forever. Rock formations and small ponds of water decorated the otherwise green terrain. Fang took point, Vanille pushing along stragglers Sazh and Hope as Lightning and Snow stayed on Fang's heels.

"How in the hell do we fight that?" Sazh asked in a shaky tone. He was pointing very high into the air at a tortoise with overly large legs adorned with iron shackles. It had a pointed face with tusks much like a mammoth. The ground quaked with every step of the beast, making it difficult to stay upright.

"We don't fight that. We run from that. That's an Adamantoise, one of the most deadly of denizens of Gran Pulse," Fang explained. "The last time anyone in Oerba tried to tackle one of those, they were crushed with a foot so gigantic, the pool of blood could not be seen until it walked away."

"I think I speak for everyone when I say let's get the hell out of here, and quickly!" Lightning was already quickening her pace as she spoke. She gave the stragglers a stern look that warned them to keep up. Lightning's wrath was far worse than anything the Adamantoise could dish out.

Sulyya Springs was at the end of the Maha'bara Subterra, a long cave filled with old machinery and living rust. It took a total of six hours to cross the Archylte Steppe, with their only near-tragic encounter owing to Sazh's bullets bouncing off of the armor of a creature that reminded him of a porcupine with very thick quills. Fang had forgotten the name of that one, but it mattered very little once a few magic spells loosened up its quills to be torn asunder by Fang's spear and Lightning's blade. The rest of the trip consisted mostly of dodging behind rocks, cliffs, and facing only the most necessary of fiends. The journey was painstakingly slow going, but considering the amount of monsters that were out there, they made good time with little incident.

Arriving at the Maha'bara Subterra was a blessing. There were no monsters anywhere in the direct vicinity near the entrance nor for quite a ways inside; giving the small group of fighters a chance to take a break and eat some of the fruit Hope had collected back at Vallis Media. Once rested, it had been time to be on foot again, making their way deep into the caverns. It reeked of oil, grease, iron and steel.

"Don't touch anything. We don't need anyone getting infection from a rusted wound," Lightning commanded. She may not have known the area, but she still had common sense that said it was not a good idea to play with rusted metal in the wilds of Pulse.

"If we traverse quickly, the living rust won't have time to solidify and become a threat. Now come on," Fang explained once again. She felt like a tour guide, constantly giving instructions and explanations of the world they were in.

Maha'bara felt as if it went on for miles, which it most likely did. Midway through their journey they passed by a large lake next to a grassy ledge breaking up the two main areas of the caverns. It was there that Vanille and Fang had an argument that escalated into a visit from Vanille's rather freakish Eidolon, Hecatoncheir. Hecatoncheir looked as if it crawled right out of the caverns as it was the color of copper. It had an uncountable number of arms and a very strange shaped head. It stood with its two frontmost arms crossed, looming over the young native Pulse l'Cie women. Vanille's Eidolon was scarier than anyone else's – even Brynhildr had a strange kind of beauty about her despite her constant flames. Hecaton, as Vanille lovingly called him, was just horrifying and creepy. Hope thanked his own heart that Alexander had come from his crystal looking like a mighty warrior of gold rather than a monstrosity from hell. Hope would never say of this to Vanille, however, for he would never want to hurt the girl's feelings. He simply hoped that she wouldn't find a need to summon the creature anytime soon.

"We're almost there! Come on!" Vanille shrieked in excitement, interrupting Hope's internal assessment of Hecatoncheir. She was walking backwards, grabbing Hope's hand and pulling him along. The trip through the remaining cavern went rather quickly once they hijacked an Atomos, a spherical saw blade-edged fal'Cie that made an excellent underground carriage. Vanille yanked on Hope's arms seemingly the last half mile to the spring.

As soon as they entered Sulyya Springs, she let go of his hand and started dancing around in the grass. "Look! Have you seen anything so pretty? This place is paradise!" She cried out. Even Fang stopped to observe the view despite the fact she had seen it hundreds of times herself.

"The water here is pure. We can drink, bathe, and the best of news is that it's free of wildlife," Fang explained. She stooped down on the bank to bring some fresh water to her lips with her hand. She sighed at the cool liquid rushing down her throat. Everyone else was following suit – it had been a while since they had gotten cold, fresh water. Most of their supply packs were not exactly equipped with ice water and was lukewarm to hot.

The spring was a huge open cavern with a large portion of the ceiling crumbled in, allowing warm sunlight the chance to shine inside. Lush greenery decorated the rock faces and tiny pools of water filled in the cracks between the stones. This would be a perfect area to rest. Vallis Media felt like it had been years behind them, even though it really was only half a day's travel. An opportunity for fresh water may not present itself again for a long time.

"Look! There are plenty of areas we can separate for privacy and wash up," Lightning pointed out. Nods and sighs all around as they all needed to wash off the various dirt and grime accumulated on their journey; fighting wasn't exactly the cleanest of activities.

"Right! Boys over there, and girls over here!" Vanille pointed toward the different sets of rock. "And no peeking!" She added. Lightning rolled her eyes as she started toward the other side of the tall stone slab where the three women could bathe in privacy while the men took the other side of the cave. "Hope, that means you! No peeking!" Vanille joked. Hope's face turned five shades of red at the very thought of seeing any of his female comrades in the nude.

After arriving at the far side of the beautiful cavern, Sazh tested the water with his foot, having already shed his shoes.

"Hey! This water's hot!" he exclaimed.

"It must be a hot spring over here, look at the bubbles! Must be an underwater geyser," Snow said, pointing to a gurgling area of the spring. The pool they were at was blocked around by the cliff walls and slabs of stone covered with grass and moss, keeping the warmer water from mixing with the colder water. Only one end was exposed to the rest of the water but it was farther off from where the three men were going to bathe.

"Finally, some good news," Sazh laughed. "I was seriously worried I might have to jump in the freezing water." He was already pulling off his gun holsters, coat, and shirt. Hope was paying closer attention to Snow who was tossing his own coat, shirt, shoes, and other accessories on the bank. Hope was a little nervous to keep watching as Snow began to unbutton his pants. He tried to avert his eyes but ended up seeing Sazh plop himself down in the water, his very grown yet toned body out for anyone to see. Hope blushed at the view as he looked back up to Snow; his was far superior to the forty-year-old man's body, and surely more worth looking at.

Snow stood on mossy ledge that was only inches higher than the water, his clothing a few feet behind him on drier rocks. He was nude, lightly tanned, his muscles working themselves as he walked toward the warm water. Hope couldn't help but note his strong arms, his smooth chest and stomach, and his firm rear. Snow had shed his bandages a while back, having healed rather quickly thanks to being a l'Cie and the excellent care of his friends. Snow turned to climb up to a slightly higher ledge, still invisible to the women but several yards above the basin. He was facing the water, his body just barely shielding his manhood from Hope, which he had already seen a silhouette of when Snow had showered in his father's home. Snow gave a yell of excitement as he took a flying leap off of the slab of rock, lading like a cannonball into the warm water below.

Hope snapped out of his gaze of admiration just before Snow jumped, neither of the older men noticing his extended stare. His cheeks were a very faint shade of red; luckily, nobody was paying attention to him as they were far too interested in feeling the warm water over their aching bodies.

"My god, I can hear Vanille screaming all the way over her," Snow stated as he resurfaced from the depths he had thrown himself into. "That girl needs a sedative sometimes. I bet Light is gritting her teeth about now."

"Ah, she's not so bad," Sazh laughed. He had spent a long time alone with Vanille, and it was actually her cheerful attitude that kept him from going into complete despair over Dajh, allowing him to tame Brynhildr; his Eidolon of flame. He had finally come to terms with the fact that it was Vanille and Fang who aided in Dajh's crystallization, but he also accepted that they wanted to help fix their mistake as badly as he did and that they were in a way atoning for their sin against the helpless boy. "She's kinda cute, too. Don't you think Hope?" Sazh gave a friendly laugh. He didn't mean to embarrass the boy but Hope's deeply reddening cheeks told him he had. "I'm just playin' with you. She's too old for you. Five hundred and nineteen years old, a woman like that would drive you to jump off Cocoon itself." Sazh was a talker, but at least he kept things light hearted.

Snow and Sazh were both enjoying the warm spring water, but Hope was still standing on the mossy ledge. He was trying not to look at the two men, it was intimidating in a way – two fully-grown naked men who were fully developed and muscled. He resorted to looking around at the scenery as if lost in a daze.

"Hope, you coming in?" Snow asked.

"Uh.. no, I'll just wait for you guys," Hope stammered. His cheeks were still a little pink from shyness.

"Are you sure, kid? It feels really nice in here! Could feel great to wash off," Sazh urged.

"No, really. I'm fine. Thanks, though." Hope was nervous, wishing they would stop asking him about getting in. He knew he really could use a wash, it was hot out and he had been sweating and grime and dirt was here and there on him. He really should, but he was too shy.

Snow gave Sazh a knowing look. "Uhm, you're not… shy, are you?" he asked tenderly. Hope gave him a defiant look.

"No!" was all he replied.

"Then come on in," Snow said. He looked into Hope's eyes and could actually see the boy was about to tear up. He decided to leave it alone for now but he gave Sazh a nod of the head, signaling him to take off anyway.

Sazh waited a few moments and then announced his departure.

"I think I'm gonna go lay out over there, air dry off. Don't go horsing around," he joked. He waded over to the far side of the spring, out of earshot, and pushed himself up onto the grassy slab of rock and laid on his back, letting the sun shine down on him as he closed his eyes.

Snow waded closer to where Hope was now sitting.

"Okay, Hope. It's just you and me. Why won't you come in the water with us? Are you shy?" Snow inquired. He made sure to soften his voice so as not to alarm the younger boy, to let him know that he was genuinely showing concern. Hope stared down at his feet and didn't answer. Snow took that as his reply.

"Look, Hope. There's no reason to be shy. We're just guys, none of the girls can see over here." Hope's face tightened a little. His cheeks were turning a deeper shade of red but Snow couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment or anger. "Hope?"

"Fine!" he hissed. "Yes, I'm shy! I'm not as old as you are, you know?" His eyes were starting to water a little.

"You have no reason to be embarrassed in front of us. We were your age once too. You think we are gonna make fun of you or something?" Snow asked, giving the boy a playful poke on his shoe. Hope kicked his hand away and wouldn't look at him.

"I dunno. I just…" he trailed off, looking away from Snow.

"Come on Hope, it's just you and me right now. I promise not to make fun of you. But you need to clean up, and it feels nice on the muscles." Hope thought about this a moment. He looked in Sazhs' direction, but Sazh was napping in the sun, paying no attention whatsoever, and far enough away he couldn't see anyway. He stood up and turned around, making sure nobody could see over the ledge. Once satisfied that they were safely alone, he swallowed a lump in his throat, and decided to give in. He took off his coat and folded it neatly, putting it on the ground behind him. He pulled off his scarf, folded that too, and did the same with his black t-shirt. He was obviously stalling. Snow sat back in the water and gave Hope his privacy by not staring at him undress. Hope finally took one last gulp of fear and took down his pants and boxers.

Hope had never felt so exposed in his life. Here he was in the middle of nature, one man asleep on one side of him, another man fully aware of his nudity right in front of him, and three women on the other side of the rocks. He started to cover himself with his hands when Snow took his right hand and gently helped him into the water. It was about six feet deep, and Hope was only five feet high, so he was holding on to the side of the slippery ledge to keep from having to tread water.

"See? That wasn't so bad. And there's no making fun. You're just another one of the guys hanging out in the spring," Snow explained.

"Yeah, but I still feel… inadequate," Hope explained. Here he was confessing his insecurities to the man whom he had tried to kill not even a week ago. The man who had been his enemy had then become his trustworthy friend.

"Why? Because you aren't as muscled as we are? Because you're smaller than we are?" Snow questioned. Hope blushed a deeper shade of red, which was hard to believe since he was already the color of a tomato.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"You're only fourteen. Nobody expects you to have the same kind of build we do. Sazh is an old man – uh don't tell him I said that. But of course he has a bigger body than you do, he's old! As for me, well, I work out a lot and happen to just be lucky."

"But… how do I know if I'm… you know, at the right stage?" Hope couldn't bear to look Snow in the eyes as he asked his questions. Snow smiled.

"Well, it's different for everybody, Hope. I can't tell you if you should be a certain way or not." Hope thought for a long moment. For some reason he was feeling more and more trusting of Snow, and he felt this very strange urge to want to let Snow see him. It was that strange urge that led him to do what he would consider to be the craziest thing he ever asked of anyone.

"Snow? Will you… look?" Hope asked, his voice cracking a little as he was embarrassed of his question. Snow simply smiled.

"Yes, Hope. I'll look at you if you want me to. Will that make you feel more confident – if I can verify for you that you're okay?" Hope nodded and grinned just a little bit. Snow helped him get out of the water and had him stand on the ledge once more.

"Uh… well?" Hope stammered. He could not believe he was doing this. Snow took in the sight of the young boy, trying to remember what puberty was like for himself. Snow had been an early developer, but he had seen plenty of the other boys in the locker rooms at school and to him, Hope looked just right for his age.

"You look fine to me, Hope," Snow told him. Hope was shaking, either from cold or embarrassment or both. The young boy really had nothing to be concerned about. His chest was thin, but he was a skinny boy with very little body fat anyhow. He wasn't so skinny that his ribs were visible. His arms weren't toned nor were his legs, but that was normal. As he grew and became more active his muscles would define more. He had a decent a mount of hair under his arms, and a light layer of hair on his legs - but that wasn't too noticeable since his natural hair color was a white-gray, a shade he never understood how he acquired. He had no chest hair but he had a medium sized bush of darker gray pubic hair right above his crotch. He wasn't as well equipped down below as Snow was, but Hope had nothing to be ashamed of, either. Snow smiled at the young man.

"Trust me, you're just fine."

"Am I… you know, big enough?" Hope asked. He had a very worried look on his face.

"Well, it's difficult to tell when it's soft like that, but it looks like it would be just fine."

"It gets bigger when it gets hard. But not as big as you… I mean, just seeing you soft I mean." Hope was starting to feel less shy and more confident with Snow.

"I told you, I'm lucky, but all guys are different. You don't wanna be too big anyway, it can be bad for… Well it can be inconvenient at times. My point is, you look a little bigger average, so don't worry about it," Snow explained. "Look on the bright side – even if you were small, there's always other options!" No matter how young Hope was, he was asll aware of what Snow was implying, even if the older man was joking around with him. Even though he could have done without the innuendo of a joke, Hope still nodded his approval of Snow's observances, attempting to distract attention away from the awkwardness as his face flared red.

"Come on, kiddo. Get in here and splash around with me!" With that, Hope let himself back down into the water, but kept holding on to the sides.

"I uh, I can't swim, Snow," he admitted.

"That's okay, there's an area right back here that's shallower, you could stand up just fine. Just gotta get you past the deep part here." Before Hope could say anything else, Snow took Hope off the ledge and into his arms, their naked bodies pressing up against each other. This was the closest Hope had ever been to another person, and this was Snow's first time being this close to another male.

"Just hold on tight, okay? I won't let you drown." Snow instructed. He held tight onto Hope, who in turn was latched onto his neck with a vice-like hug. The motion of Snow's body against his own was beginning to have an effect on Hope's nether regions. Right before they made it to the shallower end he pushed off of Snow and took the last yard by chance. "Hey, be careful. I wasn't gonna let you go!"

"Yeah, but…" Hope began. His face was redder than ever, tears almost welling up in his worried eyes.

"But what? You worried because you were getting hard?" Snow asked. Hope looked down at the water. "Don't stress it, kiddo. Happens to everyone, especially at your age. Any kind of sensation on you is gonna make it happen."

"Uhm, okay. Sorry," Hope apologized.

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I could feel that you are definitely a good size for your age. More than average I think!"

"Snow!" Hope exclaimed. Snow smiled and winked at him. He grabbed the young boy in a hug again, ignoring his partial erection and just holding him tight in the water. Snow had no idea why he was hugging him so tight, why he was feeling so attached to this kid, but it felt so nice to be holding him, protecting him from something. He felt a kind of concern for Hope that he had't felt before. Snow was always a protector – he liked to keep everyone safe, and rescue anyone in danger. He always held Serah close to him, snuggled up next to her in bed. The difference here was that he felt something else for this boy. A type of connection that felt like some sort of affection beyond friendship. Snow was thrown for a loop. What the hell was happening? He wondered if Hope was thinking about the same thing – thinking about this strange moment in their friendship.

Hope was, in fact, thinking about the moment. He was enjoying it. He felt safe in Snow's arms, his strong muscled arms wrapped around his small body, keeping him away from harm. There was no way anything could hurt him in Snow's arms. Snow would keep him protected and safe. As for why he was hard, he didn't really know, nor did he care, but he was pleased that Snow thought he was a little better than average.

Sazh sat up on his elbows and looked out into the spring, watching the two friends in their embrace.

"Well look at that, Chocobo. He finally got the boy in the water." Sazh smiled and laid back down, enjoying the warm sun and listening to the chocobo chick chirping as it splashed in the water.


	4. Stage 4 Return to Oerba

**Securing Insecurities**

_**Stage 4 **__– Return to Oerba_

Sulyya Springs had been a nice diversion but it was time for the small troop to move on to their next destination: Taejin's Tower. The tower had been one of their toughest ordeals on Pulse so far. It was home to the fal'Cie they encountered upon first arriving in the skies of Gran Pulse, and this had been an unwelcome revelation when entry to Taejin's Tower revealed the massive Dahaka, a creature that resembled a string of pearls, but much larger. The head of the fal'Cie was fearsome looking – it resembled a dragon's head surrounded by gold armor, with a long tail of spheres held together by smaller pieces. It had slammed into the inner walls of the tower upon first arrival, but the band of l'Cie implored the aid of the guardians of the tower and they heeded their call by cutting off all but the head of the fal'Cie. The tower had seven floors, each connected by a musical elevator. They almost had to play a game of hide and seek with monsters inside the outer rims of the tower to proceed from elevator to elevator. Once they reached the top, they were able to face Dahaka.

Dahaka put up a fierce fight, providing only a small platform for his adversaries to fight from, he had sent down a barrage of magic upon them that was only weakened by Hope and Sazh's protective magic while Vanille fired off debilitating magic of her own. Lightning, Fang, and Snow laid down the heavy artillery with their weapons, fists, and occasional magic spell, finally weakening Dahaka into submission. Fang finished it off by jamming her spear into the center of its head, with Hope and Vanille channeling elemental magic into it, causing the bulbous beast to explode like shattered stone.

"That was exhausting," Sazh complained.

"We just had a break, we have to move on or else we will never get to Oerba." Lightning countered. Sazh sighed into submission and holstered his guns, following the rest of the group to another elevator.

"Oerba should be just over these mountains!" Vanille shrieked in excitement. She had not yet reached the balcony for a better view of down below.

"It's just a bunch of dust," Hope muttered. Vanille rushed up beside him, fear in her eyes.

"No! No no no! Not Oerba! It can't be…" she trailed off, tears streaming down her beautiful face. Only Sazh and Fang had ever actually seen Vanille cry before, so it was a shock to the others when they saw the normally perky and chipper young lady in hysterics. Fang came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"We don't know what the village is actually like, Vanille. It might be okay. The dust may just be the mountain path. It could get better," she lied. Fang knew good and well that Oerba was going to be more of this, nothing but dust, but she knew she had to stay strong for Vanille's sake. The younger woman looked back at Fang and buried her face in Fang's chest, letting out deep sobs.

"Come on. We need to get moving," Lightning finally broke the uncomfortable silence of the remaining team mates. Vanille turned to look at the mountain path one last time before returning her view to her friends. Hope's eyes met hers, his filled with sympathy and sadness. He knew what it felt like to have everything taken away, yet he had no idea how to comfort her. He simply looked down to break their gaze. As she passed by him, he held out his hand to her, holding hers as they walked to the elevator. It was all the comfort he could offer her.

The elevator that had risen upon Dahaka's defeat was slightly different than the others. This one took them all the way to the ground and kept going outward toward the mountain path several miles away. All of them could feel the rumble of the moving machine, none of them knowing what to say. When the machine finally stopped, the side door opened with a hiss, letting them out to a much closer view of the path. Tears welled up in Vanille's eyes once more, Hope pulling her along. Fang took one long stare up at the sky, saying a silent prayer for what she knew was a fallen city ahead. When she opened her eyes a single tear slid down her tanned face. Nobody was paying any attention – Fang's superficial strength was still in place.

Vanille's constant muffled sobs echoed off the mountainsides as they walked slowly through the path, stalling their arrival at Oerba, even though they had been in such a hurry to get there previously. She held on tightly to Hope's hand, knowing that this was a sign of friendship and comfort – not the sign of romance that she knew the others were expecting it to be. Everyone except Sazh, that is. He knew that Hope's hand of friendship meant nothing more than just that – friendship. He knew the young man's affections were settled on another; having seen the touching scene at the springs.

Sazh was never one to judge other people or their choices in life. His only mission was to retrieve his missing crystallized son. He didn't care about the goings on between his teammates, he just wanted to achieve his goal and help them achieve theirs in the process. It didn't bother him at all that Hope and Snow had formed such a deep relationship. What he didn't understand, though, was the way they were acting at the current time. They didn't act like they had just had a touching moment – in fact they seemed sort of distant. He assumed it was because neither of his friends knew what to do next. They must be still sorting out their thoughts and feelings, not wanting interference from outsiders. Snow still had Serah to think about as well, so where would Hope fit in? Sazh scratched his head as the chocobo chick nestled down in his afro. The poor bird must have seen more history in the making than any other bird in the history of Cocoon or Pulse.

"We're almost there," Fang said softly. The closer they got, the weaker her resolve became. She had always put on the face of a tough woman, stoic and strong. The destruction of her home would be enough to shatter that wall into a million pieces. She dreaded seeing Oerba as much as Vanille did at that point. She strode up beside her partner, taking her other hand. Hope let go of Vanille and stood back, knowing these two women needed a moment to discover for themselves the horror they all knew was lurking right around the corner of the final mountain peak.

Fang was speechless, her mouth agape, her eyes watering, the strength she had fading away with the tears that eventually flowed from her resisting eyes. She held onto Vanille's hand, despite the fact the younger Oerban had fallen to her knees, her face in her other hand, the sobs as loud as thunder. Lightning stood back, watching them, tears coming to her own normally stoic eyes as well. Serah had been stolen from her, and Oerba had been stolen from these two young women. She was so entranced in the scene before her she didn't notice Snow standing behind Hope, his hands on the younger l'Cie's upper arms, giving them a strong squeeze of confidence. Hope had his home stolen from him as well, and he himself had his true love stolen from him as well. So if Serah was his true love, why was he feeling so compelled to be close to Hope? He felt like he needed to touch him to stay strong at that moment – hence his grasp on the young man's arms. He wanted to move his hands lower, to the sides of his stomach, pull him back closer to him, hold onto him. What the hell was going on in his head? Snow had never felt like this about another male before; he hardly felt these things with Serah. He loved Serah, but he never felt this kind of need with her. This was a need like one needed drinking water. The thought of having to let the boy go, even just to walk further on, was filling him with anxiety. Now is not the time to be sorting out weird feelings, Snow, he told himself. Face this later.

Hope felt Snow's large hands touch his arms. The tender pressure of Snow's squeeze said it all – the man was needing this contact. But then again, so did Hope. He young man had never had a date before, let alone someone to call his own. He spent all his time with his mother, or practicing his boomerang throwing, or hanging out with the couple of friends he did have back at Palumpolum. He never thought about girls, or boys, or sex in general. Other boys his age were searching out their father's nudie magazines or sneaking dirty channels on the televisions, pulling on their under aged dicks like there was no tomorrow. Instead, Hope was fully focused in his sport, only masturbating out of necessity with his mind blank from thought as he forced his orgasm. He never gave it a second thought that he should have been imagining the moist sex of woman, or the pulsing cock of a man. Then Snow comes along, and despite their rocky beginning, they had formed a strong bond, a bond that had only seemed to be getting stronger. He felt guilty for feeling surges of happiness throughout his body from Snow's touch when his friends were in despair over their lost village. Sazh was weeping quietly to himself, not wanting this even for the women who aided in the crystallization of his son. The chocobo chick sat on Vanille's shoulder, nuzzling her neck, offering the only support it could for such a small bird.

After what felt like hours, Fang stiffened up, wiped her eyes, and made an announcement.

"This is Oerba. The remains of our home and our culture lay here. We have to face this together. Please," she pleaded. She placed her hand on her l'Cie brand and quietly removed a crystal from her body. She launched it upward to the sky, the sound of shattering echoing in their ears. The supersonic squeal of Bahamut diving from the clouds was the only noise they heard. "I need you to scout around the village for signs of danger. Dispose of anything that might do us harm," she ordered the Eidolon. Hope cringed as Hecatoncheir rose from the ground beneath Vanille.

"Please Hecaton, search the village for signs of life," she pleaded more than ordered the ugly protector. Hecatoncheir nodded his head and began to march through the broken streets of the small village as Bahamut was occupied with flying through, looking for monsters. Lightning wanted to offer her Eidolon's assistance, but she felt this was something the Oerban women needed to do on their own without interference or aid from Cocoon natives. This wasn't their world, they had no right to intrude upon the Oerban women's final rites for their village.

An hour later, Bahamut returned to take Fang to where he stored the remains of his adversaries. Oerba had been home to a number of large, ambling demons coated in the same dust as the mountain path, but Bahamut spotted them easily, crushing them, burning them to cinders, or tearing them apart with his claws. Fang praised Bahamut's meticulous handiwork as she leapt off of his back and landed back in front of her comrades. She bade him goodbye and the Eidolon flew into the sky, dissolving into laser light.

Hecatoncheir was not as successful, having found absolutely no survivors or any other sign of life. Instead, he took down some of his own demons, dragging them down into the earth with his freakish arms. As expected, goosebumps ran up and down Hope's body as he gazed upon the Eidolon when he returned to Vanille. Hecatoncheir shook his metallic head, extended one of his prominent front arms, and shook Vanille's hand before crawling back into the ground via the glyph that appeared beneath his feet. Vanille looked at Fang, then at the rest of the group, shaking her head.

"We're alone here. We should be safe," she stated flatly. Never at any point had Vanille sounded so lifeless, so empty. It was haunting.

"I suppose… we should check things out here," Lightning suggested. She felt almost cold for even commenting, however they did still have a mission to fulfill and it wasn't helpful for either Fang nor Vanille to continue to despair. She knew that at least Fang understood her point of view, even if she didn't vocalize it.

"I agree. We may find some useful information here. Supplies. A chance to rest," Snow added. "I'm sorry…"

"No need for that. Lightning's right, we need to move on. Snow's right too. We might be able to find something useful here," Fang went on. She put a hand on Vanille's shoulder and addressed her. "Come on, Vanille. We have no choice. Either we stay here, mourn, and turn C'ieth; or we continue with our mission and save lives." Vanille nodded, wiping her eyes. She turned to face the group, faking one of her usual bright smiles.

"Let's go. Welcome to our home," she cheered, albeit ingenuine. There was no excitement in her heart, but she was so distraught that it was her only way to keep herself moving – to attempt to be her normal self. Maybe if she kept up the ruse, she might even start to feel it return to her. She turned on her heel and began to walk down the street, swinging her arms from side to side the way she always did; over-exaggerated and playful. Fang followed right behind, admiring her friend's determination to cope. Maybe Vanille was stronger than even she gave her credit for. At that moment Fang felt nothing but pure love for her friend, realizing that the two of them may be all that was left of Oerba, but also remembering that they had a new family to take care of as well. Lightning. Sazh. Snow. Hope. They were what she and Vanille were fighting for now, to protect them and aid in the l'Cie mission.

Lightning and Sazh followed close behind, Hope and Snow straggling behind. Snow placed his hand on Hope's shoulder as if pushing him along, but Hope shook his hand off. Confused, Snow stopped walking just long enough to let him fall behind. Why was Hope shrugging him off all of a sudden? Didn't he want to feel his touch again? As he followed behind the young boy, he felt a sadness fill him as the rejection of his sentiment settled into his heart.

Hope had felt Snow's hand on him, but at that moment he was so confused he didn't want to face the questions in his head. It was overwhelming to see Fang and Vanille in awe of the destruction of their former home and he himself was taken aback by the village before him. The streets were covered in crystalline dust, as if everyone in Oerba had turned to crystal and deteriorated over time. Maybe they had. Maybe that's why the village was empty with no sign of death. If they had died there would be corpses and skeletons littering the land, stains of blood on the ground, or remnants of clothing or personal effects. As it was, aside from the dust, the streets were barren. Cracked and broken, he couldn't take his eyes off the ground for fear of falling. He could feel Snow creeping up behind him – there was no way the older man could slow himself down enough to stay behind Hope for very long.

Oerba looked to have been a fishing village of sorts. It had only one large road that led from the mountain path, a ruin of a building to the left. Thick trees tore through the walls of stone and brick, leaving piles of rubble. What was left showed ornate designs carved into the stone. Fang explained that it used to be the largest building in Oerba, a place where people gathered for social events, sporting events, and performing arts. It was still not very big compared to what a theater or events hall on Cocoon would hold, but considering the size and population of Oerba back in the day, it was just the right fit. Various areas of Oerba were home to large simple windmills, probably used for power. Further on, there was a long metal stairway that led down to the main area of Oerba, where the homes were. On that particular side was only two major homes, with something like a zeppelin off to one side that used to be a market for food production, storage, and sale. The smaller home next to the market had several panels of its wooden walls missing, rot having eaten away at them. The larger house closer to the edge of the ocean was in much better shape. The first story was something like an old boathouse, sans boat. Wooden crates were stacked on one side with watermen supplies piled up against the back wall. The second story was the actual home – another metal walkway leading up to the door. Vanille explained that this was where most of the children would stay, hence the large number of beds stacked on one another. It had a decent sized kitchen and a larger table set in a bay window at the front of the home. The view was breathtaking, the ocean going on forever. Photographs of various inhabitants of Oerba decorated the walls and shelves, children's stuffed toys left on the beds. Hope picked up a very old plush chocobo and gave it a hug. It was a childish gesture but he remembered having a similar toy as a toddler. He put it back on the bed he picked it up from and left the home with the rest of the group.

A large stone ramp led down from the town square of Oerba to the lower area, made up of more overly large yet beautiful trees, stone ruins, and another home. One of the ruins was actually where a stone structure had fallen on top of another home, apparently the one they used to use for a school. The lower ramparts of the village dropped a little lower, where the other home was. Unlike the first two this one had two stories of actual living space. The lower floor was for storage while the upper floor had everything else. Fewer beds than the previous dwellings, but still cozy. A second staircase led to the roof where the remnants of a garden remained. A stone fountain was cracked and filled with crystalline dust. One last area of Oerba to explore, it was raised higher than the lower ramparts but not as high up as the main square. This dwelling was by far the largest, having a large open basement filled with nothing but beds and dressers. The first floor was also large and open, housing the kitchen and tables for eating and probably playing games. The top story was very similar to the second floor of the first home they explored, a large bay window with benches lining the wall as well as couches and bookshelves. Fang explained that this home was where the most people lived – particularly the children. It, too, had a roof with remnants of a garden that included benches for sitting on.

"So, what do we do now?" Sazh asked. The group had explored the village; the only supplies they found that were usable were the fruits that had dropped from the trees, and the water in the well near the market. "I suppose we could stay here for a day at least, give us a chance to rest without worrying those crazy-ass beasts are going to attack us."

"We could use the extra time to do a better search for supplies as well. This fruit is only going to go but so far. We need to see if we can find any kind of records or documents or anything that might tell us about Cocoon, Pulse, or these brands," Lightning said. She paced around the room of the largest home as they considered their options.

"Are you two okay with staying here for at least a day?" Sazh asked Vanille more than Fang. She nodded, then wandered out of the room. "Are you sure she's gonna be okay?"

"She'll be fine. We both will. It's just a nasty shock for us both," Fang explained.

"Uh, guys? Look outside!" Snow announced, pointing out of the large bay window "Looks like we have to stay now, we can't travel in this." Snow was right, there was no way they could travel, it was pouring rain outside. Lightning bolts flashed in the horizon, the sky having already turned dark in the late afternoon. The sound of the rain hitting the tin roof in sheets filled the room. Vanille came running back in, dripping wet.

"It really could have waited until I came back in to start raining," she complained. Between the look on her face, and her hair frizzing up from the wetness, she looked quite a sight and nobody, not even Fang, could help but burst into laughter. "It's not funny!" she stomped her feet. It was good to see her returning to her normal self – tantrum and all.

After Vanille's unexpected shower, the small group did their best to enjoy a dinner together – fresh fruit salad with coconut milk. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it was nourishment and would have to do. Fang and Snow agreed to go hunting for some meat in the morning, the rainstorm not the best time for such an activity.

"I think we need to figure out sleeping arrangements, folks," Sazh suggested. The chocobo chick was quietly sipping on some coconut milk he had poured onto a small dish and pecking away at the tiny pieces of fruit Hope had shared from his ration.

"I agree. There's plenty of room, we can stretch out if we want to. We're safe here for the time being," Lightning told them. Vanille and Fang wanted to stay in the home near the lowest rampart of Oerba, liking the view and the fact that it was right on top of the water. Nobody was to stay in the very first house, the one with the missing walls – it was too dangerous to risk that it might topple over. Lightning chose to stay in the large home they were currently in, Sazh staying in the basement filled with beds. He fashioned a makeshift nest out of torn pieces of cloth that he took from some old shirts in one of the drawers so the chocobo would have a proper place to rest. It wasn't necessary, but it was something Sazh imagined his son Dajh would do, and seemed appropriate as he thought of his missing child. He had already lost his wife, he would not let his son disappear forever as well.

"I'm going to stay in the boathouse," Hope said. Sazh cocked his head and gave him a questioning look.

"Don't you wanna stay here with us? Camp out?" he asked. Hope shook his head.

"No, I need to be alone for a while," Hope explained. Not waiting for a response, he stepped up the walkway and ran outside. It was on the other side of the town, up near the main square where he had to go, but luckily for him the rain let up just long enough for him to make it there. Only his orange and yellow jacket were wet, which he squeezed out and set in the sink to dry.

Hope took a look around what was going to be his camp for the night. There had been several beds stacked on top of one another at the back of the building, but he hadn't realized before that the beds were too small for him. He sighed, then decided to simply take off the mattresses and lay them on the floor. He made himself a large bed out of the mattresses, allowing him to stretch out. He covered them with sheets he found in one of the drawers, fluffed up a couple of old pillows, and took off his shoes. The room was dark, with only the flashes of lighting coming in through the window giving him brief glimpses of light. The sound of the rain pouring in sheets was all he had to listen to, but it would be therapeutic and send him off to sleep rather quickly. He took another look around the dark home, glancing at the family photographs on the shelves between flashes of lightning. His heart hung heavy as he looked at the smiling faces of moms and dads and children. There was even one photo of Fang and Vanille, hugging and smiling. A tear came to his eye, but he brushed it away before he would let himself cry. It was definitely time for bed. He took off his gloves and set them on the counter next to the sink with his jacket. He untied his bandanna and folded it, setting it neatly on top of his gloves. His mother had always taught him to fold his clothes, and it was something that stuck with him. He laid down on the mattress, staring up at the ceiling. He felt tired, but he couldn't fall asleep. Something felt like it was missing. Letting out a deep sigh he got up and walked into the bunkroom.

When Hope returned to his makeshift bed, he laid down again, this time with the old plush chocobo in his arms. He pulled the sheet up over him, laid on his side hugging the ancient toy, and let sleep take him.

Back at the big house, Snow stared at the ceiling, the sound of Sazh's snoring and the quiet chirps of the chocobo chick drowned out by the rain. He couldn't sleep. He had been laying there for over an hour, his mind racing a mile a minute. All he could think about was… Hope. He should be thinking about Serah, but she barely graced his mind. No, instead it was Hope that filled his head. He kept seeing his smiling face as he held him close in the water at Sulyya Springs. He had been aroused by Hope's naked body at the spring, but it was his face that he truly focused on. Such innocence. The young man was unsure of himself, unconfident, but yet he trusted Snow, the look in his eyes making it painfully evident to the older l'Cie. No, it wasn't Serah's eyes, or face that kept him awake. It was Hope. Where did he say he was sleeping? That's right, at the boathouse, all the way near the town square. Why would he want to stay there, all alone? Maybe a lot was on his mind, too. Snow doubted that he was on Hope's mind the same way though. But then again, maybe he was. The constant nagging in his brain wasn't going to let him sleep, he had to see Hope.

Snow sat up in the bed, then looked over to make sure Sazh was still asleep. He lay there snoring loudly. It was still storming outside, and he had a long way to go, so he grabbed his coat and threw it on. One last look back to make sure Sazh was still out, and he quietly ascended the staircase until he was outside. He stole away like a thief in the night, trying to make as little noise as possible even though nobody would hear him over the rain. Around the corner of the ruins, up the stone ramp to the square, and he stood facing the boathouse. Snow looked around one last time to make sure nobody was around and then climbed the metal staircase, taking his time to avoid making any extra noise.

None of the buildings in Oerba were equipped with locks, the doors simply opened. He slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open, wincing when it creaked at the hinge. He stood in the doorway, the stacked beds on his right. It was dark but he saw no sign of Hope in any of the beds. He finally saw his quarry when the lightning flashed through the window and illuminated the entire room with white hot lightt for just long enough for Snow to spot the younger boy on the floor, sleeping on stacked mattresses and with something clutched between his arms. Snow smiled, the scene so peaceful. Hope had been forced to grow up far too fast on this journey. He should be at home, sleeping in his comfortable bed, his parents in the next room, no worries on his mind. Instead he was here in a whole different world, the hell below Cocoon, sleeping on a pile of old mattresses, alone and sad. This wasn't the right thing for Hope to have to experience. But there was nothing he could do for him now. He couldn't change the past, all he could do was try to make a brighter future. Snow had never sat around with these deep kind of feelings before. He would admit it, he was kind of a big goof, someone who acted on impulse, not thinking first. Someone who never thought about the consequences as long as he felt what he was doing was the right thing.

"…now. ….now…." Hope was whimpering in his sleep. Snow cocked his head, then realized he was muttering his name. "Snow, Snow." So the boy was thinking about him too. It was that realization that gave him the confidence he needed to do what he felt was right. Snow took off his coat and tossed it to the floor. Unlike Hope, he was never taught to keep things in order. He tossed his gloves on top of his coat, kicked off his boots, and took off his pants and shirt, leaving him standing in a pair of black boxer shorts. He looked down again at the sleeping teen, knelt down, and pulled back the sheet. He crawled onto the mattress next to him, and pulled the sheet back up .Snow laid on his side, facing Hope's back, putting his arm around him and pulling Hope into his chest. He didn't intend to wake up the sleeping boy, just wanted nothing more than to hold onto him.

Snow had barely started to drift off to sleep when Hope rolled over to face him. His eyes fluttered open, widened in surprise. "Snow?" he whispered. "What are you doing?"

"I needed to see you. Make sure you were okay," Snow whispered back. Hope's initial response was to be sarcastic with him, but something stopped him. He gazed into Snow's bright blue eyes, their vision locking into each other. He leaned closer into Snow, letting himself be pulled up to his face. It was then that he realized exactly what was happening as Snow's lips pressed against his in a gentle kiss. Hope hesitated only a moment before he pressed up against Snow's lips again, this time for longer. Once again, however unlike before, he allowed Snow to slip his tongue into his mouth, tasting him. Their tongues wrestled in their mouths, Snow holding Hope tightly against him. Their eyes were closed as they kissed, tears streaming down from Hope's eyes as they let their mouths explore each other. Snow stopped when he felt the tears from Hope's face.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Hope nodded. "I'm fine. I'm happy, Snow. I'm safe with you," Hope answered him. Snow pulled him back close and kissed him again. Snow turned onto his back, bringing Hope on top of him, straddling him. He slid his hands up inside the younger's shirt, urging him to bare his young chest to him. Hope complied, tossing his black shirt aside. Snow pulled him close again, chest to chest this time, their nipples rubbing up against each other, sending tingles of excitement from their chests to their groins. Hope could feel Snow's stiffening penis underneath him, his own straining in his underwear. Snow hooked his thumbs inside the waistband of his pants, helping him to slide them off and toss them aside. They were now two men, pressed tightly up one another in only their underwear, throbbing erections oozing precum as they continued to kiss and grope one another.

Snow had turned to put Hope on his back, then slid his boxers down and tossed them aside as well, Hope's naked body now completely exposed to him. His dick looked bigger than it had at the springs, now throbbing in its full glory. Snow smiled, kicked off his own boxers, and allowed his own hard on, dripping with pre cum, to rub up against his young comrade.

"Are you sure about this, kiddo?" Snow asked him, staring straight into his deep green eyes. Hope smiled. "Yes, I want this, Snow. I want you. Please, I want you," Hope answered. Satisfied, Snow reached down and gave Hope's dick a squeeze. The teen let out a quiet moan as his most private area was touched by another person for the first time.

Snow bucked his hips up against Hope, their dicks dancing around each other, slick with pre cum. Snow's cock was dripping like a faucet, Hope's not quite as much. The semi sticky liquid was just slick enough to allow Snow the opportunity to hold their cocks together and slowly stroke as one. Hope's breathing became faster, deeper. He was young, there was no way he was going to be able to last but so long. Snow stopped stroking as he felt Hope throb harder and harder.

"Still okay?" Snow asked. Hope smiled, pulled him in for a kiss. Hope's hands gripped the tight globes of Snow's butt, squeezing and pulling Snow closer still.

"I want to taste you, Snow," Hope pleaded. Snow smiled again, and stood up. Hope got up on his knees, took Snow's large manhood in his fist, giving it a few quick jerks. He then gingerly placed his mouth around it, worried that he might scrape it with his teeth. Snow leaned his head back and moaned, putting his hand on top of Hope's head, carefully guiding his cock in and out of the teen's mouth. His cock was leaking like crazy, filling Hope's mouth with sticky precum as if to give a taste of what was to come. He moaned as Hope wrapped his lips tighter around his blood engorged meat. When Hope needed a break, he took his mouth off of his cock and licked all around, giving him a tongue bath, Snow dripping with precum and saliva. Hope cradled Snow's large, hanging balls with his hand, then lowered his mouth to take each testicle in his mouth, gently sucking on it and massaging it with his tongue.

"Oh my god, Hope, you're doing that so well! Keep going!" Snow moaned. He didn't push down on his head when he returned to wrapping his lips around the massive piece, not wanting to hurt his young partner. It was all he could do to maintain control as he wanted nothing but to fuck the boys face. Restraint, however Hope began moving his head back and forth, gulping down as many inches as he could handle. He gagged only a couple of times, his reflex not used to something so large trying to invade his small throat. He continued to gulp down his cock, trying desperately to deep throat him but being inexperienced, that was beyond his ability. Already drowning in his precum, Hope wanted desperately to suck the warmth from Snow's balls, feel his seed drowning him as it went down his throat. Hope's tongue work was getting Snow surprisingly close to orgasm, his breaths coming more and more ragged. Not wanting it to be over so soon, he tried to stop him, but Hope put his hands on Snow's ass and pulled him into his mouth, taking him as far in his mouth as he could. Snow couldn't help it, the small throat pulsing and massaging his cock drove him over the edge as he shot spurt after spurt of his burning hot cum down the boys throat, letting out a primal growl of ecstasy. Snow was shuddering, feeling as if his balls were completely drained. He wasn't done with his young partner, however, and not only wanted to please him with his mouth, but wanted to fuck him. Snow wanted to fuck him until both of them came again, giving the teen the perfect first time. He got down on his knees, still taller than the young boy, and kissed him. He could taste remnants of his own seed in his mouth, the sweetness and heat driving the blood back into his groin and sending his crotch into raging hardness once more. He didn't speak, just gently pushed Hope onto his back and taking his cock in his mouth in one smooth motion. Hope let out a squeal of intense pleasure as Snow's warm mouth enveloped his pulsing teenhood.

"Don't, not yet," Snow instructed when he felt the boy begin to shudder and tremble in pleasure. He pulled his mouth off Hope's cock and moved down to his balls. Just as the young boy did to him, he drew each nut into his mouth and sucked and licked it until his moans signaled him that he was getting close. Snow suckled on his own finger before tracing down to Hope's virgin hole. He began massaging the tight muscle, pressing in just slightly. Hope trembled, nobody had ever explored back there before, not really even himself. He was nervous, but he trusted Snow.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, you know that, right? I'm just gonna make you feel real good," Snow whispered. Hope nodded as he moaned for more. Snow put his mouth back onto his cock, massaging with his tongue, licking up every drop of his precum, swallowing it greedily. He couldn't wait to taste the boy's cum, feel it sliding down into his gullet. He could feel Hope squirming beneath him, the tight hole between his legs tensing and releasing, the pulsating of impending orgasm. When he felt Hope loosen up for just a moment, he slid his wet finger deep inside him, finding his prostate with ease, and rubbing the firm gland. Between the sucking and the fingering, Hope cried out as he shot his own load right into Snow's hungry mouth. He felt like a vacuum cleaner was on his dick, sucking every last drop of seed from his aching cock.

"Did you like that?" Snow asked as he was slowly removing his finger. The teen's ass was still pulsating – tightening then releasing, his orgasm finally over. Hope could only nod, his throat far too dry to speak just yet. Snow leaned down, licked his lips, and then licked Hope's lips, kissing him deeply. As with Snow, Hope was able to taste his own sweet juices leftover in Snow's mouth, hot and sticky. They continued to kiss, Snow's stubble scratching Hope's smooth boyish face. Their bodies were once again pressed against one another, their bodies slick from sweat. Hope kissed Snow down his neck and to his shoulder, gently biting the flesh there. Snow winced but the pain shot a small surge of erotic energy right to his crotch. Hope continued down, stopping at his chest to play with his nipples. First he took his right nipple and nibbled just the slightest bit, rubbing his tongue over the hard nub, Snow gasping in pleasure. He finished working on the right and went to the left, paying just as much attention as he did the previous one. He continued kissing right down to right above his crotch, burying his nose in Snow's blonde pubic hair, breathing in the scent of the pheromones driving him wild.

"Snow? I want you to…" Hope began, bringing his face back up from Snow's sticky crotch meat. Snow met his eyes, certain of what the boy was about to ask him to do. "I want you to make love to me."

"You are sure?" Snow asked, very nervous. Serah had mentioned before that his throbbing cock was a task to handle, and her anatomy was more capable of accommodating a large member. This boy was a virgin, tight and pure. The word 'love' also threw him off, wondering exactly what he meant by it, but he had trouble expressing his own feelings about the boy, so he assumed Hope was having the same conundrum, unsure of what to say to him in regard to his feelings for him.

"Please, Snow. I want to feel you inside me!" Hope pleaded with him. "I need you, Snow. I need you." Snow nodded and sat back between Hope's spread legs. He pulled his legs up, pressing Hope's knees up to his chest, exposing his ass spread wide and waiting for invasion. Snow swirled his finger in the mess of pre cum between them, and use it to moisten the young man's virgin hole. He pressed gently, knowing that having cum once already, his hole would have tightened back up and need working again before he could ravage him. He circled his finger around the entrance, pushing more and more until he could slide his finger all the way in. Hope let out a surprised gasp followed by a pleased moan. Snow had big hands with large fingers, so he knew this was probably a little much for a first timer, but there wasn't much other option. He had already had his finger in there once, so he knew Hope could take it. It was time to up the ante just a little bit.

Snow slid his wet finger in and out of Hope's tightness, eliciting quiet moans from his willing partner. He was still tight, but he would loosen up some more soon. He pressed his index and middle fingers together tightly, then cautiously stuck them both inside t the same time. Hope gasp at the increased size, but he was alright judging by the constant leaking of precum. Snow used his other hand to reach between Hope's legs and slowly stroke his cock. When he could tell the boy had become accustomed to two fingers, he decided to ease in the third finger. If he could handle that, he could handle his cock. As before Hope groaned in surprised at the increased size entering his hole. He spent several minutes working on his hole with three fingers, trying to make it as easy as possible for Hope to take him. Finally, the young man was ready to get what he was craving the most.

"Hope? You know this is going to hurt right?" Snow asked, staring deep into Hope's eyes, signaling that he was serious – losing his virginity was going to cause him some pain. Hope nodded, biting his bottom lip. "It's going to hurt a lot, Hope. But it will feel really good after. Do you trust me?"

"Snow… I trust you," he purred. Snow positioned his large erection right in front of Hope's waiting entrance. Snow warned him to take deep breaths – the more it hurt, the more he needed to breathe in. Hope had a worried, nervous look on his face, but he wanted Snow to make him his, to do to him what nobody else had ever done to him. Snow leaned down and gave Hope several more deep kisses, then sat back up, his large bone pressing up against the waiting entrance. Once last look at Hope for approval, and Snow began to push. At first just the head made it in, Snow pausing to let Hope's muscle relax around the invading bone. Snow pushed a little further, Hope finally crying out in a loud whimper.

"Oh my God!" Hope groaned. The look on his face was of pure agony. Snow paused, looking down at him.

"Are you alright?" Snow asked. He was beginning to worry that perhaps he was too much for his small partner, terrified he was going to hurt him or damage him.

"Oh it hurts! It hurts so much! So big!" Hope yelled. His breaths were ragged gasps as he tried his best to accommodate the thick cock.

"Want me to stop?" Snow asked him, his eyes softening, not wanting to pressure him into taking what he couldn't handle.

"No, please, don't stop, keep going! I want it. I'll handle the pain," Hope assured him. Snow pushed even further, finally pushing the last few inches of his manhood deep into Hope's insides. Hope let out a loud cry of pain and ecstasy that drove Snow into a frenzy. "Oh fuck!" he swore. The pain was intense as the large member slammed into his prostate, changing the pain into a feeling of pleasure so intense, he couldn't feel the hurt any longer.

"Just keep breathing deep. Keep breathing deep, it will help with the pain." It was all he could do to be patient and allow the younger boy time to adjust to his above average size. Snow leaned down to kiss Hope, slowly bucking his hips as he did so, applying pressure in all the right places. Both men could only wonder how different it would have been had Hope not been loosened up with Snow's large fingers first.

Once Snow was sure that Hope had enough time to let his muscles tolerate his thick tool, he began to thrust into the younger man, slowly at first. In and out, in and out, each time the head of his dick hit Hope's prostate he let out a loud moan of pleasure. Snow was holding himself up with all his strength, thrusting his cock inside the young man, speeding up. Hope reached between his legs and began to stroke himself, the slickness from the pre cum and the sliding sensation of his foreskin sending wave after wave of pleasure all the way to his balls. Snow began speeding up more and more, his own foreskin easing the friction and allowing him to slam into Hope's pucker faster and harder. He was slamming into him right up to the hilt, the young virgin taking all nine inches of the grown man's throbbing cock. Tears streamed down Hope's face as the pain overtook him, then the pleasure would set in again, then the pain, and the pleasure, wave after wave of pleasure. The intense waves of pleasure outshone the shocks of pain until Hope felt no pain at all anymore, and was feeling nothing but pure ecstasy. Snow's heavy balls slapped up against Hope's ass with every thrust, ready to explode, Hope's own balls ready to explode a second time, the slamming against his prostate driving him insane.

"Snow, I'm getting close!" Hope cried out. Snow shifted his weight, and started jerking on Hope's cock, pushing his hand away. He wanted the boy to cum from him, not from his own hand. Snow continued to slam into him as hard as he could, the ring of Hope's muscle squeezing his dick over and over, the pleasure so intense that he thought he might explode. Snow began to stroke Hope's cock faster and faster, the precum the boy was gushed providing the perfect lubrication. Without warning, Hope's body shuddered, cum spewing forth from his throbbing cock like a geyser. It was as if Snow's cock was pushing every last bit of cum out of him, the throbs of his cock eliciting a cry of pleasure and a volley of cum onto his own stomach. Snow kept his hand on Hope's dick, slowing down his strokes but not stopping. Hope was shaking, coming down off the high of his immense orgasm. Snow continued to stroke him, speeding up the more he thrust into his tightening hole. He slammed faster and faster, getting himself closer and closer. With a buck of his hips that could knock down a wall, Snow emptied his balls into Hope's ass, filling him up with his seed while forcing a third orgasm from the young boy, both of them crying out. Hope moaned at the sensation of the warm liquid filling him up the hot, sticky substance spreading inside him, some of it leaking out from the overload. Both men were breathing heavily, but wouldn't move out of their position. Snow's softening cock slipped out of Hope's tightening hole, a puddle of cum beginning to form underneath him. Hope had a slight look of embarrassment as he felt the cum leaking from himself, but Snow assured him it was okay with a deep, passionate kiss that seemed to last forever.

"Thank you, Snow," Hope whispered.

"That wasn't all just for you, Hope. I wanted it too," Snow replied. Hope rolled over on his side, Snow spooning him, neither man minding the cooling wetness of Snow's massive load between them.

"Am I… am I just…." Hope couldn't get the words out.

"No, Hope. You are not just a one night stand. I can't explain what's in my heart or my head, but I know this isn't just a fling. I don't know… I don't know what it is, but I care a lot about you. I think about you so much," Snow confessed. He hugged the boy tighter, a tear forming at his eye.

"I think about you a lot too, Snow. I wish I knew what it meant. But I don't," Hope returned with his own confession. "I feel like, like maybe it might be more than just liking you a lot."

"We both have a lot to figure out. Our feelings are pretty intense and confusing. I mean, I can't say I ever imagined in a million years that I would be laying in the afterglow of sex with not just one of my closest friends, but a guy friend. Thing is, it doesn't matter now. We're here, together, and happy." Snow was silent, letting that settle into Hope's mind. He could feel him trembling, the very soft whimpering of tears that he knew Hope was desperately trying to hide. Snow let him think he couldn't hear, he simply held him closer, nuzzling his face in Hope's silver hair. Finally, he broke the silence. "We need to get some sleep. We have a lot to do in the morning. And a lot of thinking."

"Are you going to leave me now?" Hope asked him, his voice saddening, the tears coming fresh to his eyes.

"No, of course not," he replied, smiling into the back of the boy's head. He only hugged him tighter, and would not let go. He eventually became aware that Hope had fallen asleep, and only then did he allow himself to fall asleep, but only after he placed the plush chocobo between his sleeping young partner's arms.


	5. Stage 5  Caught!

_As always, thank you to G-AnakinRPG for his excellent beta work. Check out "Playing with Snow," the one shot that I wrote for him as well :)_

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**Securing Insecurities**

_**Stage 5 **__– Caught!_

The sun shone brightly through the windows near the basement ceiling, bringing Sazh out of a dead sleep.

"Good morning!" he said to nobody in particular as he stretched, looking over at the small nightstand where he had placed the chocobo chick in his makeshift nest, petting the creature on the head to wake him. He noticed then that Snow was neither in his bed nor was his coat anywhere to be seen. "Hmm, I guess he's already up and about. Early riser. Come on chocobo, let's see what's for breakfast." The chick chirped then fluttered up to his regular position in Sazh's afro as if he were controlling him like a giant robot.

Sazh went up the stairs to the highest level where Lightning was cutting up more fruit and Fang was squeezing oranges, making juice.

"Good morning, kids! How is everyone?" Sazh announced as he entered the room. Despite his pessimism at times, he was able to keep an upbeat attitude when appropriate. Fang gave him a nod and a smile, while Lightning gave him a good morning in response.

"Did you wake up the big oaf down there when you got up? He needs to go with Fang to hunt down some meat. This fruit is good, but we need something else," Lightning stated, referring to Snow. Sazh shook his head.

"He wasn't down there, neither was his coat. I figured he was already up and about."

"Nope, haven't seen him around here either," Lightning replied. "Vanille was up early, checking out the ruins to see if she could find anything. She might have seen him," Sazh nodded, taking a cup of juice that Fang offered him, and headed on outside. He looked over toward the ruins, saw Vanille, and waved.

"Heyyyyy! Come over here!" Vanille yelled excitedly. Sazh ran down the stairs, down the road, up the ramp, into the main square. As he started to ascend the stairs up to the main road where the ruins were, he paused, looking over at the place Hope had declared his home for the night. He was curious, had Snow gone over there? Oh well, so what if he did? Sazh made it up to the main road and crossed to the ruins where Vanille was hopping up and down excitedly.

"You find something?" he asked her. She answered by grabbing hold of his hand and dragging him to the side where a small hole was at – the remains of a door. She ducked down on all fours and crawled inside, Sazh following her. It was dark, but Vanille had already brought a tree branch in, igniting it with a fire spell. After a few yards the crumbled rocks opened up into a small room - the only place accessible from the days when the ruins had been an ornate theater house.

"Look! I found this desk, and there's stuff inside. Maybe we can take it back to the others and see what it is. I need help taking it back, though," she said.

"Then I'm your man! You wait outside and I'll pass it to you. When I get back out we can carry it all back," he replied with a smile. It was good to see the young girl acting like her old self again. Vanille crawled back outside, leaving the torch with him. He started looking around to see what was worth taking.

Meanwhile, back at the big family house, Lightning and Fang were discussing ideas about what to do next.

"So, what should we do now? The answers we were hoping for weren't here. We have nothing," Fang said. Lightning shrugged her shoulders. She had been wondering the same thing. They had no ideas where to go next. They never really knew where they were going since Lake Bresha. Snow insisted on staying behind for Serah. She had said she was going after the Sanctum but she didn't really know where that even was. Eden, maybe. She had just started walking, figuring she would figure it all out later. When Hope decided to tag along they decided to go to Palumpolum, hoping to find a way into the Sanctum from there through the military base. Vanille and Sazh were simply trying to run away from the entire thing, being forced to face their fate when Colonel Jihl Nabaat had them arrested. Upon reuniting with Snow and meeting Fang their top priority was to rescue their friends before they could be purged or killed. After that, their fates were decided for them when they were thrust into the Fifth Ark that in turn sent them off to Gran Pulse. Ever since then then, they were on the run from Pulse nasties, with their goal being to reach Oerba, hoping for some sort of answers. Unfortunately, the only answer in Oerba was that it was destroyed a long time ago, the only traces of civilization being abandoned homes and ruins. No, Lightning had no clue what to do next, and she didn't think anyone else did either.

"We can't even go back to Cocoon, can we? Can Bahamut take us there?" Lightning asked Fang. The raven-haired woman shook her head.

"No, it's too far. You know like I do, the longer the Eidolons are summoned, the more limited their powers are. That's why we can only bring them out for short periods of time. It would take us half a day at least to get to Cocoon, by then Bahamut would have left us all to drop. What we need is a ship."

"Where are we supposed to find that? The bridge leading out of here is destroyed, we can only go so far," Lightning lamented. "It's like we're stuck here."

"Come on, now. That's not like you to give up so easily. You're better than that, Light. We just gotta think some more is all." Fang swung her arm around Lightning's shoulder, giving her a playful hug.

"Hey! Look what Vanille found!" Sazh burst into the room shouting, Vanille right behind him, both of their arms full of items. They dumped everything onto the nearby table and started sorting it out.

"What is this?" Fang asked, observing the ole dusty mess.

"Records! Books! An old lockbox!" Vanille ticked off each item as she spoke. Everything was covered in dust, but it was in good shape nonetheless. There were about three books, a notebook of sorts that was closed with a clasp, a book of photographs, and the lockbox. "There's no key but we figured Lightning could break it with her sword. I don't want to hit it with magic, it might damage whatever is inside."

"Good job, Vanille. Sazh. Did you guys run into Snow, or Hope?" Lightning asked, her spirits feeling lifted at the new cache of information. Maybe, just maybe there would be something that would be useful. And what was in that lockbox?

"No, no sign of either of them. Maybe Snow went to go visit Hope. They seem to be getting pretty close; I guess they're sorting out their differences finally!" Vanille suggested cheerfully. The three older members of the group all exchanged looks, Vanille oblivious. "Maybe I should go see them!"

"No, I'll go get them, otherwise you three will be having a party and we will never get anything done," Fang put her hand on Vanille's shoulder, stopping her from running off. She stepped aside from her and headed out the door, giving Sazh a slight nod of her head while nobody was looking. He followed her outside.

"What's up, you want me to go with you or something?" Sazh asked her. Fang, never one to beat around the bush, replied, "No, I want to ask you something."

"Okay, go for it," he said. He had a feeling he knew what topic she was going to address.

"You notice anything up with the boys? Hope, and Snow? They seem awful friendly these days," she asked, looking him right in the eye. Sazh hesitated, wondering if it was his place to say anything. Fang was an intimidating woman, however, and he could not resist answering her.

"Yeah, a little bit. I thought maybe they were just getting along better. Although they were acting a little distant before we got here," he said, too nervous to break her gaze.

"I think it's more than that, and so do you," she stated. "Look, I don't care what those boys are up to, but it better not interfere with doing whatever it is we gotta do. You're their friend, if you think there might be an issue, address it," she ordered. She nodded her head, smiled, and trotted off toward the ramp leading up, leaving Sazh to his thoughts. Hoo boy, he knew something was going on, and he really didn't want to be around when Lightning found out. She would shit a whole brick house and probably jam her saber right through Snow's chest, thinking nothing of it. When it came to Serah, she didn't play around.

Fang made it to the top of the hill, looked over toward the boathouse. She could hear the sound of light splashing and mumbles of conversation. Her quarry was back behind the house, playing around in the water. She rolled her eyes, sighed a deep breath, and headed over. She really didn't care what was going on with the two men. Vanille was hers, Sazh had no desire to be involved, the only real issue might be between Snow and Lightning, and she couldn't tolerate the groups strongest fighters at war with each other. She chuckled to herself, even the chocobo didn't give a shit as long as he got to ride in Sazh's afro and get back to Dajh.

Fang peered around the wooden backing of the lower boathouse, looking down the rockface toward the two men. Their clothes sat in a large pile off to the side, both of them naked as the day they were born. Snow sat on a large rock, his feet in the water while Hope waded in the water below, clutching onto the nearby rock. Could the boy not swim? He was awful nervous looking in the water. Snow was smiling, and jumped off of the rock and into the water, the came up behind Hope, the young man releasing his grip on the rock and turning to hug Snow. What happened next was not really surprising to her, but was still strange for her to witness – the fourteen year old boy leaned forward, and passionately kissed the twenty-one year old man. Her eyes widened. So she was right, something was going on with them. She stepped on out, revealing herself to the two men.

"Come on boys, get dressed and join the party," she announced. Startled, Hope let go of Snow, dunking into the water. Before he could panic, Snow reached down and lifted the teen back up, latching him onto the rock. A look of worry was pasted on both of their faces. What would Fang do now? Would she tell Lightning? "Come on, finish up! Vanille found some goodies that might tell us something. Bust your nuts and come on. You got five minutes to be up here or I'm dragging you out, naked or not," she said. She was only half-joking. While Snow was an attractive man and she wouldn't mind entirely seeing him nude, the idea of seeing Hope in the buff was a little unnerving – he was way too young to be seen that way. Then again, here was Snow, same age as her, buggering the teenager so it couldn't be but so awkward. She turned and went behind the wooden slats, sitting down. "Five minutes boys!" she hollered for good measure.

"Oh my God, Snow, what do we do?" Hope whispered, his face flushed with embarrassment at having been caught in the nude by a woman, and being busted while kissing Snow. Snow gave him a hug and after looking to see if Fang was paying attention (she wasn't), he helped lift Hope out of the water onto the larger rock, pushing himself up after him.

"Come on, get dressed. I'll take care of it. I'm the one responsible, not you," he said, shaking off the water. They had brought down extra bedsheets to use for towels to dry off. He wrapped one around Hope, the young man shivering for all he was worth. "Calm down, Hope. Calm down."

"But what if she tells the others? Won't they freak out? Won't Lightning be furious and hurt you? Won't she hurt me for being part of it? What about Sazh, won't he be mad thinking we were looking at him or something?" The words flew out of Hope's mouth so fast that Snow could barely understand him.

"Seriously, calm down. I'll take care of it. If Fang insists on telling Light, I'll take entire responsibility for it. As for Sazh, I doubt he cares. He doesn't seem like the type to freak out over something like that," Snow assured him. He smiled, took the boy in his arms, and kissed him again. Hope started to pull away but Snow didn't release his grip, holding onto him, kissing him again. "Don't worry. It will be fine. I promise."

"Okay, but be careful, okay?" Hope said, still nervous that something major might go down. Snow released him, finished drying him off, and helped him put his clothes back on. He was fully capable of getting dressed on his own, but there was something intimate about letting Snow dress him. Once he was clean and freshly suited up, Snow dried off and put his own clothes on, then took Hope's hand and led him up the rock face and into the boathouse.

"About damn time. I thought maybe you were buggering again," Fang joked. She smiled. "Don't worry, It's not my place to say anything. Just don't let this interfere with our mission, whatever it may be," she warned. Snow mouthed a thank you as Hope leapt forward, latching onto Fang in a tight hug. "Don't stress it, kid. Ya'll got enough to deal with. I wouldn't advise saying anything to commander in chief though. She might shit herself," Fang went on. Hope couldn't help but crack a smile – he liked Fang, she was always so blunt and to the point. She was strong, like he wanted to be but still wasn't yet. She turned and led the way back down the ramp toward the main house where the others were waiting, hopefully already going through the books. She wasn't big on research, but in this case she wasn't going to argue.

"Found 'em!" Fang announced, the two men trailing in after her.

"Where were you? We were looking all over for you!" Lightning hissed, aiming her irritation at Snow.

"Just getting cleaned up behind the boathouse. It was a good chance to wash up before we have to set out again," Snow explained. Light still wasn't satisfied, but she let it go for the time being.

"Fine. Did Fang tell you about the things Vanille found?"

"Yeah, she said she found some books and pictures and some old box," he replied. Hope stood back a little bit, hoping that nobody could see the slight nervousness on his face. He was still unsure about someone finding out about their secret rendezvous and causing a big scene. He really didn't want to danger the mission, even though none of them knew what the mission was at that point.

"We might actually find out more about these damn brands and what the hell to do next!" Vanille squealed in excitement. Sazh gave her a disapproving look for her use of language. She was five hundred and nineteen years old but swearwords still weren't becoming of her. She giggled, "Sorry! I'm just excited!" Sazh smiled at her, giving a wink.

"Just don't let it happen again young lady," he said only half-sternly. She saluted him like a soldier and then two of them started laughing.

"Alright you two, can we get down to business? I'm gonna work on getting this box open, we still need decent food – Fang, Snow, that's your job. Sazh, Hope, Vanille – begin looking through these books. Mark anything that might be of use. Everybody got it?" Lightning never sounded more like a leader than right at that moment.

"Come on, pretty boy," Fang said, pulling on Snow's arm. "Let's go get us some munchies. Preferably something that requires a fire to eat." He followed her out of the house, putting on his gloves and tightening the zippers and flexing his hands to get the best grip. He could use a good wrestle with a beast or two.

Lightning picked up the lockbox and took it outside, unsheathing her saber. She knew it would take all of five seconds to smash the lock and look at the contents, but she needed to think. She was suspicious. Why would Snow need to go all the way to the boathouse to wash up, and why with Hope in particular? She had noticed a strange kind of closeness with them. Despite their distancing at times, it seemed as if Snow made a conscious effort to touch the younger man any chance he got. She noted him putting his hands on him waiting outside Oerba, and she noted that they seemed to be meeting eyes and smiling after bathing in the Springs. She also noted how when the two of them entered the room, Hope was following him like a lost puppy, his face flushed and a look of pure nervousness on his features. Something was up, but if she found out about it, she would have to deal with it, and she wasn't yet sure if she could handle that. Overall she just didn't want Serah to get hurt. After Snow convinced her that she could turn back, she was already thinking of her as if she were human again, just staying at home while she was off on an adventure. Oh if Snow broke her heart, she was going to break him. She never suspected for a moment either that it was Hope's fault. He was only fourteen, Snow was twenty one and surely the one pressuring the boy into whatever was going on. She gripped her blade handle with an iron grip, stood back, and smashed the lock, the pieces shattering and flying everywhere. She resheathed her sword and picked up the box.

"Let's see what you're hiding," she said to herself. Light popped open the now unlocked box, and peered inside.


	6. Stage 6 Going Home

_Thank you to G-AnakinRPG for his wonderful beta-skills. Trust me, without his input the latter half of this chapter would blow goats. :)_

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**Securing Insecurities**

_**Stage 6 **__– Going Home_

"How the heck am I supposed to read this? It's all in Pulsian!" Hope grumbled, turning pages in one of the dusty notebooks. He slammed it shut, making a cloud of dust, which caused him to cough loudly.

"There's no pictures?" Vanille asked, as if it was some sort of children's book. "Well, shoot, nobody knows Pulsian but me and Fang?"

"We were all born on Cocoon. The only history lesson we ever got about Pulse was the War of Transgression," Hope explained, slightly irritated. Of course none of them knew Pulsian - it wasn't like foreign languages were explored on Cocoon.

"I suppose that makes sense," Vanille thought aloud. "Well, I guess I better start reading then! Look through the rest of this mess and see if there's any pictures. You can read those!" she giggled. Sazh grinned, but Hope was losing his patience. It was unlike him to be so short tempered, but the stress of Fang's discovery and Snow's quandary over what to do about it was getting to him. He picked up the next book and started thumbing through it. Sazh had picked up what could only be called a scrapbook and started browsing the various things pasted into it.

"I wonder when Lightning is going to come back with the nifty surprise from the box," Vanille wondered aloud.

"I thought you were reading," Hope sarcastically scolded. Vanille looked hurt, she wasn't used to him having such a negative attitude. She picked up a book and quietly started to read.

"Ease up on her, she's excited," Sazh whispered to Hope. The younger boy's face reddened out of embarrassment, but he said nothing.

"I got the box open," Lightning announced, coming into the room rather casually. She tossed the box onto the countertop and tossed the object that had been inside over to Vanille's waiting hands.

"What is it?" Vanille asked. "Nevermind!" she said quickly before she could be reprimanded.

"It's a log," Fang replied, entering the room – Snow behind her.

"A log?" Lightning asked. "A log of what?"

"I don't know what's on this one, but if I remember right, back in the day they were like journals. People talked into them instead of writing in a book," Fang went on, taking the object from Vanille and feeling around it with her fingers.

"So… how does it work?" Snow asked. "Oh yeah, we got some meat, just need to skin it, clean it, and cook it!"

"I have no idea how they work. I only saw one once, I never actually had one. Better hold on to it for now. So, any luck with the library?"

"Heh, hardly. They're all in Pulsian," Hope answered. "And no pictures," he added. Again Vanille had a rather hurt look on her face.

"Watch that 'tude there youngin.," Fang scolded. Hope's face flushed again. He looked at Snow, who frowned at him with a questioning look in his eyes.

"I think I need to go outside for a bit," Hope said, his head down. He got up and trudged down the stairs. Snow had a strong urge to run after him, hug him tight and tell him everything was going to be okay, but Fang turned and gave him a look that said he should stay put.

"Maybe he just needs a friend," Vanille said quietly. Even though he had snapped at her twice, she was still concerned. "I'll go check on him." Fang sighed, thinking about the fact that exploring the artifacts was more important than a teenager's mood swings. Vanille got up, fixed her skirt, and happily skipped out the door.

"She has entirely too much energy. I want whatever she's on," Snow joked.

Vanille stepped out of the door to the outside, searching for Hope. She finally spotted him; he was on the roof of the house next door, sitting in the remnants of the garden. The closer she got to the building she was able to hear the faint whimpering of someone crying. She stepped up the stairs to face her young friend his head hanging down, tears running down his face. She sat down next to him and put her arm around him, half expected him to push her away. Instead he just leaned into her.

"I'm sorry, Vanille. I'm so sorry," he whimpered. She patted his back with one hand and ruffled his hair with the other.

"Don't worry about it. You just need a friend! You know you can talk to me, Hope," she said. "Something's wrong, and it won't do you any good keeping it to yourself. Trust me, I know all too well." A tear of her own escaped her eye. She wiped it away, then gently touched his face, wiping his tears away with her hand. "Come on, look up and tell me what's wrong."

"I can't," he said. "I just can't."

"Yes you can. I won't tell, I promise!" She put her hand under his chin and made him look at her in the eye. She smiled, a genuine smile that was full of affection. They sat in silence for several minutes before Hope took a deep breath and let it out.

"I'm worried. About the future," he began. She looked quizzical but intent. "I… uhm… Snow… well… we uhm…" He just couldn't get the words out.

"You and Snow what?" she asked. He took another deep breath.

"Me and Snow, we uh, we kind of… ah we're friends," he paused. "Really close friends."

"Oh! You mean…?"

"Like really really close friends, kind of like he and Serah are really close friends," he vaguely explained.

"Oh! He's your boyfriend!" she hopped in her seat as if she just won a game. "That's so cute! So what's the wor-" she stopped herself. "Oh. Oh yeah. That's the worry. Serah." He nodded his head, fresh tears appearing in his eyes.

"He said I'm not a one night stand, but once Serah comes back, then what?" he whimpered. "He acts like I mean something to him, but what does he think is going to happen – he's not going to leave Serah for me." By then tears were flowing freely, his body shaking.

"Oh, Hope," she cried. She hugged him tight, his hot tears falling on her skin. "He won't just toss you away! Even if he stays with Serah, he would want you as a close friend. He won't toss you aside!" She knew that was of little comfort – Hope didn't want to be just a friend, he wanted Snow to be his.

"But Vanille… I…" he still couldn't get his words out. "I think I love him," he managed to choke out. She hugged him tighter still, kissed the top of his silver head.

"I wish I knew what to say, but I don't," she said softly. Tears of her own started to drip on his head like raindrops. "Does he know how you feel?"

"I think so, yes. We… you know, and… then we uh…" he was kind of embarrassed to give that kind of detail to the slightly older woman. His cheeks would have been flushing with shyness had they not been red from crying already,

"He must care a lot about you then. You should talk to him about it. I can bet that he has been thinking about it a lot, too. He's really the one with the tough choice, between you, and Serah. I don't know what I would do if faced with that kind of choice," she said, trying to remind him that he had it easier than Snow when it came down to it.

"Thank you, Vanille. For listening. And for caring," he whispered. She was still holding on to him, stroking his hair. "I really am sorry for being mean to you."

"Oh don't worry about it! Now come on, wipe that pretty face up and let's get back inside, maybe they finished all the hard work and we get to show up for the reveal!" she giggled. She held onto his hand and tugged him until he stood up. He hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. The two of them then descended the stairs until they were out on the street again, returning to base to find the others.

"So according to the book, we should be able to get back to Cocoon as long as we can find a way to get to the gate?" Lightning questioned, Fang nodded in answer. "How do we get to the gate, is the question. We don't have another airship."

"The only option is to travel farther from Oerba." Fang frowned. "We need to keep going northwest."

"Isn't the bridge kind of… oh… crashed!" Sazh exclaimed in frustration. "How are we supposed to cross the big river to get to the other side and keep going on?"

"Calm down, old man," Fang laughed. "All we need is a makeshift boat. We'll have to climb down to the river bank and launch from there; should only take a few hours to get across. There is a Pulse military outpost not much farther from the other side; there may be a ship, or at least something we can use."

Hope and Vanille came back in, Hope's face still a slight shade of red, but both of them were smiling. "Did we miss the hard work?" she joked.

"Actually yeah, for the most part. We don't have to fly all the way to Cocoon from here, we just gotta find the transgate and fly through it," Snow answered. "Means we have to cross the river though. One of you got a boat in your pocket?" They both shook their heads. Boats didn't collapse quite as easily as their weapons did.

"No boat, but there's plenty of wood and ropes around here. We can make a raft," Sazh suggested, trying to convince himself that things would be going better.

"Good idea. The four of us will go build the boat," Vanille announced, pointing to Fang, Lightning, and Sazh. "You two get all our supplies together."

"Save your strength big boy, you get to do all the rowing," Fang looked at Snow, grinning. Snow's face fell, but he knew that was probably best – he was the strongest, Fang coming in a close second. "Let's get to it."

"What about the shiny toy that was in the box?" Vanille asked as the group was splitting to their tasks.

"No go. Still can't figure out how to work it. We'll take it with us but for now we follow this plan," Lightning explained. "Now move it."

Snow and Hope spent their afternoon gathering up supplies. Snow prepared the meat to go with them, as well as the rest of the food they had. Hope gathered up everyone's personal belongings and some spare sheets, the artifacts, and hid the plush chocobo away in his knapsack. It had more meaning than ever – before it was just reminding him of when he was a kid, but now it reminded him of the night he and Snow spent together, and he didn't want to ever forget that. He remembered that when he woke up the next morning, the plush was stuck in his arms, Snow the only one who would have put it there. He did wonder, however, what the original owner of the plus was like – if it was a boy or a girl, how old, how they got it. Shaking off the thoughts he finished packing up. It would take the others longer to build a raft, so why had Vanille ordered he and Snow to a task that would take under an hour to complete? Then it dawned on him – she wanted them to talk.

"Snow?" he approached his friend cautiously as the man was carving large chunks of meat off of an unrecognizable beast.

"Yeah? What's up, kiddo?" he replied, still cutting with the large knife. Hope recognized it as the same knife he had tried to kill Snow with seemingly forever ago.

"Uhm, I want to talk about something," Hope started off, looking at the ground, nervous to look at the older man. Snow stopped cutting and looked up.

"You wanna talk about last night, and this morning, right?" he guessed. Hope nodded. "Look, Hope, I honestly don't understand my feelings. I really don't. I wish I did, but…" he paused, looking at the teen, trying to gauge his response. "Don't look so down, it doesn't mean I regret it, or reject you. I just don't know what to do."

"About Serah, right?"

"Yeah. I really like you a lot, Hope. More than just a friend," Snow set down the knife, wiped his hands on a towel, and approached the young man. "I mean it, I really like you. I just don't know what to do." He put his hands on Hope's shoulders, pulled him close for a hug. Tears were forming at Hope's eyes again, his face flushing. "Aw, don't cry. Please. No matter what happens, I want you in my life. I just don't know what capacity yet, because of… Serah. There's not even a guarantee she will come out of stasis…" he lamented. "That might make the decision for me, if she didn't come out, but… no, that's far too cruel and selfish of me. I still love her." He pulled Hope close for a hug.

"Snow, I… I like you a lot too. I think more than like, but I don't know. Thing is, I know if Serah comes back, I can't have you. She has your heart first, it's not fair to…" he couldn't finish, burying his muffled sobs in Snow's coat as he hugged him tight, like he always did.

"Hope, nothing is definite. Don't give up on me yet, but please be patient too. This isn't easy for any of us, and she doesn't even have a say at all," Snow explained. Hope nodded his understanding between sobs. Their touching moment was interrupted by loud yells and screams.

"Oh no, what's going on?" Snow asked, both men turning around to look toward the source of the noise. It was the bridge. They would have to move fast to make it up there and come to the rescue of whoever was in trouble. Snow grabbed Hope's hand and pulled him along toward the bridge.

"Serah!" Snow screamed as he and Hope arrived, joining the other four l'Cie at the end of the bridge. Lightning was talking to Serah, Serah accusing her of something he couldn't hear. Lightning's face was filled with confusion. Snow stepped forward.

"Snow? You trust me, right?" Serah asked him, approaching. She put her hands on his arms, hugged him, and then stood back, looking up at him. "If you trust me, you know you have to destroy Orphan. It's for the better. Everything will be so much better in a new world." She stared into Snow's eyes, but he shoved her, the woman falling back on her rear.

"Oh, Snow. I knew you didn't trust me." Serah said, giggling hysterically. She pushed herself up off the cracked road, grinning. Her body began to glow, and in a bright flash her body transformed into a white robed man wearing a tall hat. Barthandelus.

"I knew it wasn't Serah. You can imitate her voice and her image, but you can't imitate what I see when I look into her eyes!" Snow shouted.

"Ha ha! Pitiful l'Cie! You may see through my ruse, but no matter. Your destiny still remains the same; to destroy Orphan! Yet… you resist. Why?" Barthandelus asked.

"We aren't your puppets! What good will it do to bring about the end of Cocoon?" Lightning shouted, unsheathing her blade and staring at him with pure hatred.

"The destruction of Cocoon is a great sacrifice – one of such grand scale will surely draw forth the Maker, and the Maker will turn the world into a wonderful place, with nothing but the best of life – a world filled with fal'Cie, free of the burdens of humanity and free to live out their own lives! No more chains holding us into single tasks, but instead we will live as we should have centuries ago, before humans were birthed and divided between worlds," Barthandelus went on.

"Bring back the Maker? What do we care if he returns, what has he done for us? Why can't humans and fal'Cie coexist without people dying? We don't force the fal'Cie to do what they do, so why do we all have to die to free you?" Lightning demanded to know.

"It is your existence that binds our chains. As long as humans live, fal'Cie are bound to servitude. However, what you don't realize is that as l'Cie, you serve us, you exist to carry out our mission and in the end your own destruction."

"We won't be your toys just to free you! Loss of life is never an answer to gain freedom!" Vanille shouted at him, her Binding Rod already in her hands.

"Toys are for children, foolish girl. You are but tools, to be used and discarded. Why else do you think I have guided you, forced you to hone your skills and travel my path?"

"That explains the Ark," Fang noted. "He's done nothing but built up his tools to carry out the task he can't do himself."

"What happens if we don't do anything at all? What if we refuse to help you?" Vanille asked rather calmly.

"You know the legends. We turn into C'ieth. He'll just make more and more l'Cie to carry out the Focus until one of them succeeds," Fang replied before Barthandelus could respond.

"Well put, ancient Ragnarok," he teased the former destructor of Cocoon. "Yes, she is right. If you refuse, you wander eternity in hopelessness as more l'Cie are trained to carry out the Focus you failed to complete. Ah well, no matter, do nothing, or destroy Orphan, it makes no difference. Right now the Sanctum Army is in Eden, preparing to destroy Orphan themselves, with or without your help," Barthandelus announced. "Perhaps you should just go home, prepare for the inevitable. Once again, I will give you the necessary guidance." With that, Barthandelus rose into the air and disappeared in a flash of light. The mechanical owl he held on his staff flew around in circles, landing at the end of the bridge, transforming into a large ship much like the one they used to travel from _The Palamecia_ to the Fifth Ark.

"Looks like we got ourselves a ride," Sazh said, pointing to the familiar vehicle. "This time I am the pilot, no more of this fal'Cie steering crap. We're going home, our way!"

"We better be careful, they are likely to be at war already when we get to Eden," Fang warned. "We may need to call the Eidolons, so be prepared."

"She's right, we need to keep close watch through the windows as we get closer; assess the situation," Lightning agreed. Everybody, get your things, and let's get on the ship. We need to get to Eden and stop them from destroying Orphan, before it's too late," Lightning ordered. The raft was no longer a necessity, only their personal packs and food. Within a half hour they were on board and ready.

"This is going to be big. Everybody ready?" Lightning asked.

"As ready as ever!" Vanille answered.

"Ready to kick some Sanctum ass!" Snow replied.

"I second that," Hope added. Fang just smiled and nodded

"Let's fly. Back to Cocoon, home sweet home!" Sazh said, getting comfortable in the pilot's chair. The chocobo chick cheered as it flew out of Sazh's afro and landed on the control panel.

"Look, even he is ready to go home," Hope laughed, leaning forward and tickling the chocobo, who leapt into the air and perched on Hope's head.

"Well you can't deny a chocobo, can you? Sazh, get this baby in the air!" Snow exclaimed.

Sazh saluted and started pressing buttons and turning switches, the large vehicle rising from the ground smoothly. Suddenly it shot into the air with incredible speed, aiming directly for a large green hole in the sky that resembled some sort of quivering squid. The ship was beginning to shake it was moving so fast, hitting the green transgate at full speed. Bright flashes of color blinded them all, the light at the end of the tunnel showing the center of Eden, the brain of Cocoon and home to Orphan.


	7. Stage 7 Eden, Eidolons and Epiphanies

**Securing Insecurities**

_**Stage 7 **__– Eden, Eidolons, and Epiphanies _

Back within the confines of Cocoon, Cid Raines sat in his office above the Eden raceway. Controlled by Barthandelus, he was merely a shadow of his former self, a puppet set to fool the people of Cocoon into following fal'Cie orders. No sign of the l'Cie had been seen for some time, the people of Cocoon being led to think that they were apprehended and contained in Palumpolum. Their escape to _The Palamecia_ was never televised, the entire incident nothing more than lightning in the sky. The citizens who had seen a ship fly into the side of a building were told it was merely a holographic display gone awry during the apprehension, but that everything was still 'okay'. The citizens, longing for return to their peaceful world, accepted the explanation with little consequence. Dysley's disappearance was attributed to the Sanctum leader being ill, Cid Raines taking up the reins as Primarch while the good leader was nursed back to health. None of the citizens even thought to question these events, afterall it was much simpler to assume they were fact and to return to their daily peaceful lives.

Nevertheless, Raines sat in Eden, looking down to the preparing race. Barthandelus had ordered a distraction to pull the citizen's attention away from the army that was growing in Eden Hall. PSICOM and the Guardian Corps had both been fooled into thinking that the destruction of Orphan was to be prevented, protection mounting in many levels throughout Eden. What he really wanted was for the l'Cie to charge in, one last trial to push them further into Orphan's Cradle where they would finally be faced with the only decision: slay Orphan.

The rogue l'Cie were on their way home from Gran Pulse, currently inside their airship, zooming through the transgate. They could see what was happening down below, watching as a racing event was underway in Eden. Surely a distraction by the puppet, it would also provide the cover they needed to sneak into Eden Hall and find their way to the Cradle.

"Really? A race? I could beat all of them in Brynhildr!" Sazh bragged.

"Lame way to try and get the people's attention away from their failures," Snow said.

"Lame, but effective," Lightning added. "We better get ready, I have a feeling things are about to get ugly."

"It couldn't be as easy as to just walk into Eden Hall, could it? No we have to fight our way there, can't do anything the easy way!" Sazh complained.

"No, I just know that Eden is filled with soldiers of all kinds – it won't be as simple as walking in the front door. The entire army is going to be ready for the big bad l'Cie to come raiding their precious Hall," Lightning corrected the older man.

The ship was getting close to the exit of the gate, the racers below getting ready to begin. The Cocoonian people felt comfort knowing the Guardian Corps was watching the entire event, keeping them safe as they watched the joyous event. The people needed something to be excited about since Palumpolum was in disarray; it gave them a way to break away from the reconstruction.

Raines was simply going through the motions; standing up and making a speech into the camera, his image displayed on giant monitors throughout the raceway stands. He feigned interest and strength, having no choice but to continue his deception. The crowd below cheered, lights flashed, fog bloomed into the air, and horns blared. With a snap of his fingers, Raines signaled the start of the race. As the sound of the snap echoed through the stands, the crowd roared with excitement as the numerous airbikes, aglow with various stickers, lights, and decorations, wasted no time in blasting forward from the starting line.

"Hey! Look over there!" Vanille shouted, pointing toward the race track. The airbikes were lined up, ready to take off, a large monitor over top of them showing Cid Raines speaking to the crowd. Standing all around the track were soldiers and large robots and vehicles.

"No, look over _there_!" Fang pointed farther back behind the track at Eden's downtown area. While the streets were barren of citizens, soldiers of all types were already scouting about, guarding the entrance to Eden Hall.

"It looks like the entire PSICOM army!" Hope observed, nervous.

"PSICOM and Guardian Corps. Everything they have. They're guarding the Hall," Sazh added. The chocobo chick groaned as it dove back into his afro, tired of so much fighting. He may not be the one pulling the triggers, but it was wearing him out staying well hidden in the big bush of hair.

"They're guarding Orphan, you mean," Vanille corrected him. "But, if the army is being controlled by Raines, and he is being controlled by Barthandelus, wouldn't they be trying to get to Orphan, not guarding it?"

"They aren't strong enough to kill Orphan. But we are. Barthandelus doesn't want to keep us out; he wants us to fight our way in so that for one last time, the l'Cie are the ones to blame. Anyone who survives the crash of Cocoon will blame the l'Cie, and worship the fal'Cie as gods for their own safety. The fal'Cie will make slaves of them, the way they think we have made slaves of fal'Cie," Lightning explained. "Fal'Cie can't kill the humans outright, so they will make more l'Cie and use them to control the people with fear, forcing them into servitude."

"But that's stupid! It makes no sense!" Vanille argued.

"Nobody said it had to make sense; genocide rarely does," Lightning answered.

"Wait, if destroying Orphan will cause Cocoon to fall, then why are we going to find Orphan in Eden Hall?" Sazh asked, suddenly realizing that he didn't understand the plan.

"Easy. Barthandelus wants Orphan dead to bring back the Maker. But we're going to destroy Orphan to save Cocoon instead. We're going to put an end to the cycle of making l'Cie of humans to be fal'Cie slaves. When the goddess returns, she will be our salvation, and keep Cocoon aloft. It isn't mass homicide she wants, it's a sacrifice of the fal'Cie to bring her forth that she needs. The fal'Cie die, and she can come back to be with the humans she created," Fang explained.

"Where are you getting all of this?" Snow asked.

"You know that little doohickey in the box? I figured out how to use it, and it explained everything. That's when Lightning and I made our strategy," Fang said, a smirk on her face.

"When was this?" Snow asked again.

"While you guys were busy packing things away, we cracked into the log and heard it all," Fang answered him. "In short, the Maker is the goddess Etro, who made humans and fal'Cie, then high tailed it for a little while and to make her come back we need a sacrifice. The fal'Cie want to sacrifice Orphan but need l'Cie to do it, but destroying Orphan will cause Cocoon to fall to the world below, killing the majority of humanity. The thing is, destroying Orphan will kill all of the fal'Cie, regardless of who slays it, so the fal'Cie are committing mass suicide and don't even realize it. They think if we destroy Orphan for them, Cocoon falls and they become gods."

"So either way we all die?" Sazh asked in a panic.

"No, Etro will return and save us. She made us, the fal'Cie forced her away, and she wants to come back to take care of her children; us. Look, none of this makes a huge amount of sense. All in all, it's just a bunch of stupid fal'Cie pretending they are gods when none of them have a damn clue about anything!" Fang said, a little irritated.

"Barthandelus thinks we are going to destroy Orphan to help the fal'Cie, but he doesn't know we found out the truth, and that now we are going to destroy Orphan to help free humanity," Lightning explained. "So that's the plan. We get to Eden, fight our way into Eden Hall and confront Orphan to bring this all to an end."

"So in we go, huh? No more poking around, it's time to finish our Focus the way we want to finish it," Snow said, grinning a little.

"The army is no match for NORA, right, Snow?" Hope chided him, nudging him in the arm. He hadn't said 'Nora' since the incident on the rooftops of Palumpolum.

"The army is no match for _us_," Snow corrected.

"Look, the race is starting! The perfect time to get into Eden Hall!" Vanille shouted in excitement.

"Get your game faces on, they aren't playing around," Lightning ordered. "We don't have time to land. Call your Eidolons, we're going to battle."

The six l'Cie stood in a row, pulling their crystals from their brands. The ship shot through the exit of the transgate, lighting up the sky as the gate closed behind them. "Now!" Lightning shouted. "Odin!" She threw her rose shaped crystal forward, shot it with a bullet from her gunblade. Lightning felt the mighty stag run up behind her and duck down, allowing her to straddle his back.

"I summon Brynhildr!" Sazh cried out, throwing his crystal forward and shooting it three times. Brynhildr began to form in a large sphere of flame, finally bursting out into her Valkyrian form. Sazh reached out and held on to the giant scythe held by the Norse warrioress..

"Bahamut!" Fang called out, her crystal flying into the air, shattering in the sky with the supersonic squeal of the dragon racing through the clouds piercing their ears. She felt him come up behind her and she grabbed on straddling his back in her usual perch.

"Alexander!" Hope smashed his own crystal between his hands, sparkling in yellow dust, his massive guardian descending from the clouds, taking the shape of a mighty warrior with Hope sitting in his giant outstretched hand. He gazed back at his massive Eidolon, impressed.

"Come on, Hecaton!" Vanille called forth her freakish Eidolon by sending her crystal hurtling to the ground. He came up from underneath her, grabbing onto her with his front most hands and cradling her in his arms. Only Vanille would come up with a cutesy pet name for her Eidolon.

"Shiva!" Snow crushed his crystal in his fist and tossed it forward, the twin sister forming on either side of him from a shattered sphere of ice. The six l'Cie were then prepared for what may very well be their most elborate battle yet.

Down below, the race had just started. The air bikes were going at maximum speeds, the crowd cheering them on. All but one of the racers were focused on the track. The other racer made the mistake of looking skyward, seeing the green gate closing and six giant mechanical creatures emerging in bursts of light and color, smaller beings riding on them. The rider panicked and turned the wheel sharply, causing him to lose control and the airbike to fly down the track end over end, the driver yelling for help.

Suddenly the biker felt himself stop in midair, the world no longer spinning crazily. He saw pale flashes of blue, felt the air turn cold. "That was a close call!" a man shouted.

Snow was standing atop the side of the air bike, the twin sisters on either side of the bike, holding onto it. Snow was grinning, eating up the attention. "And the hero saves the day! Thank you, thank you! You're too kind!" he boasted. He was waving at the crowd, the sleeves on his coat falling to uncover his forearm uncovering his l'Cie brand. A camera zoomed in on his forearm, displaying the image up on the screen. The audience began to scream and yell, panic settling in as they recognized the tattoo of black arrows and a red eye in the center.

"Oops, probably should've covered that." He scolded himself, realizing he was being broadcast on the monitors. As the Shiva sisters set down the air bike, he leaped into the air, the sisters grabbing hands and combining into their own motorcycle, Snow landing in the seat just in time. Several Sanctum mecha known as Bulwarks were then flying after him, ready to shoot him down. He slammed down the pedal, Shiva blasting forward with all of her power. "Catch me if you can!" he yelled back to the troop of white mechanical Bulwarks.

Alexander and Hope landed on a crosswalk set above the track, watching below. Hope jumped down, a Bulwark barely having time to stop in front of him.

"Hi there!" he said cheerily. The mechanical arm drew back to hit him, but Alexander landed on top of it instead, crushing it in a loud squeal of metal and sparks. Smoke spewed out of the machine, Hope smiling as he noted several more Bulwarks coming toward them. He looked up at Alexander; "Cut 'em off!" he ordered. Alexander nodded and raised his gargantuan arms to grab hold of the closest intruders, throwing them aside, one of them bouncing down the track toward Snow and Shiva.

"Looks like we have a winner!" Snow joked. He revved up the engine even more, the icy engine squealing. Shiva sped up, leaving the destroyed Bulwark in a mound of ice.

"Now!" Lightning shouted, riding atop Odin, who upon her order, tossed her up in the air, grabbed her hand, and swung her around, giving her enough force to leap onto a nearby velocycle with a PSICOM soldier piloting it. He jammed the steering shifter around, trying to throw her off without success. He tried another tactic, attempting a barrel roll. "You're dead!" he yelled.

"No, you first!" she replied, grabbing him by the collar of his armor and yanking him out of the velocycle, sending him flying to the ground. Fang pulled up beside her on Bahamut, laughing at the fallen soldier.

"Keep it up Light!" Fang shouted, grinning. Bahamut reared back, taking fierce slashes ahead at some more velocycles and flying bulwarks. Sparks flew and squeals of metal on metal filled the air. Bahamut kept transforming between warrior mode and flight mode, tossing Fang into the air over and over as he did so, not even pulling in his wings as he fought. Lightning was hanging off the side of the hijacked vehicle, flying toward more soldiers piloting velocycles.

Bullets were flying at the freakish Hecatoncheir, bouncing off the metal arms of the Eidolon as he cradled Vanille in his many arms on his front half. Soldiers had fired steel wires at the him, attempting to subdue him but to no success: Hecatoncheir was much stronger. His hands had grabbed onto the cables, now wrestling with the wires trying to yank them out of the airships that were firing them.

"Stop that! I said stop that!" Vanille hollered at the soldiers in anger. They were getting really annoying, and there was no reason to be trying to kill her. In fact, everything was fine until Snow's brand was spotted, then the army came out of the sidelines to attack, right there on the race circuit!

"Bring her down!" one of the soldiers yelled, firing more cables at them. Hecatoncheir grabbed these too, yanking hard and snapping them at the root. More bullets flew, Hecaton still blocking them away with his arms, the metal making loud noises as the bullets deflected off the armor.

"Block this!" another soldier screamed, firing a rocket launcher at them. Vanille pulled her arms up to her chest, suddenly panicked.

"Uh oh!" she said, but by then the rocket had hit, and although she was safe from danger by the massive arms holding on to her, she and Hecatoncheir were flying through the air, the final cables snapping, yanking down the airship with it. She screamed loudly as they hurtled end over end.

"Vanille!" Sazh shouted, pushing the pedal to the metal inside Brynhildr in her car form, the chocobo screeching at the top of its tiny lungs. Just as they were about to pass by the falling pair, the car ejected Sazh from the seat, transforming into her Valkyrie form, swinging her massive scythe around to catch Hecatoncheir as he flew by. "Got ya!" Sazh called out, landing back inside Brynhildr as she reformed as a racecar.

"Odin!" Lightning called for her partner. She ducked just as Odin, in warrior form, landed beside her and shoved a falling piece of debris from the air. She leapt from panel to panel of various parts of machinery shot through the air, leftovers from Bulwarks and velocycles, as one of the airships Hecatoncheir felled was coming apart. Odin transformed himself into various stages of his warrior mode, evading bullets and objects being hurled at him, slashing back with his own dual scythes. "Hope! Make a wall!" she commanded the teenager as she was ducking yet another iron panel that Odin pushed away from her. "Move it!"

"Okay!" Hope replied. "I need your help, big guy!" Alexander didn't hesitate – he immediately began to shift, half of him folding down into an orb-like shape, his arms expanding outward to catch several falling towers from the sky. Hope climbed up on him, positioning himself near the center of the Eidolon sphere. Alexander spread his sides out far, creating a huge wall across the track, keeping the Bulwarks, velocycles, , soldiers, and everything else from passing by. If they tried, Alexander would simply shoot them down with high powered white-hot lasers.

Having recovered from her ride on Hecatoncheir, Vanille hopped down from his arms. "We work better together!" she said, smiling. His arms went rigid and began to rotate, then folded down to make four large turrets. The entire creature formed a bipedal mech, larger than the mechanical foes attacking. Vanille cheered and hopped up on top of the machine of war. "Time for a taste of your own medicine!" she said, steering Hecatoncheir toward the crowd of soldiers that had shot her down before. They were attempting to shoot once more, but Hecatoncheir was holding up a shield, shooting large orbs of energy toward them. Vanille ordered him to start firing missiles around them, driving the soldiers into a group. She smiled, Hecatoncheir jumping and landing smack into the middle of the group. Vanille reached up and pressed a few buttons, grinning up at the soldiers around her. He drove his turrets into the ground below and began to charge up. A large half sphere of energy began to form around them in a huge radius, holding in the soldiers and they began falling as the ground shook violently. Hecatoncheir fired intense electrical shocks into the ground, the power surging throughout the Eidolon, Vanille holding on, screaming in excitement. Rocks erupted from the ground and electricity flowed throughout the hemisphere with clouds of dirt brushing up. When the energy dissipated, all that remained of the soldiers was armor and broken corpses."That's more like it." She giggled.

Brynhildr and Shiva were busy corralling more soldiers, Bulwarks and velocycles toward Alexander like cattle. Shiva revved up, spinning to create small ice barriers to block incoming gunfire, Brynhildr backing up and shooting sparks and flame, forcing the adversaries back. They were closing in toward Alexander, no escape available for their quarry.

"Let's finish this up," Snow shouted, revving up Shiva's engines, freezing air blasting from her exhaust pipes. He drove straight into the middle of a large group of soldiers and mechs, then began to spin out, swinging in circles and circles, frozen air turning to ice, locking foes within it. Snow pressed a button on the center console and the ice shattered into tiny pieces, everyone inside shattering with it.

"Ouch!" Sazh commented. "Alright, let's go from one extreme to the other!" He revved up Brynhildr's engine, then began driving circles around his group of adversaries, a large wall of fire forming in Brynhildr's tracks. The more he revved the engine the higher and more severe the fire got until it was tracing lava tracks in the ground. When Brynhildr finally stopped, the only thing left was melted metal and corpses. Sazh and Snow traded thumbs up, then drove out farther, pushing in the last of the fiends toward Alexander.

"Hope! Do it now!" Snow ordered. "You got it!" Hope replied and stood back, hanging sideways off of the gigantic Eidolon. A large slit in the center opened, tiny laser eyes opening, shooting white hot lasers at the ground, drawing a holy glyph over top of everything there. A huge explosion followed, finishing off the Sanctum army. The three l'Cie cheered, Vanille straddled upon Hecatoncheir arriving on the scene just in time to watch as Bahamut and Odin faced two Warmechs.

The Warmechs were actually much larger than any of the Eidolons, save Alexander. One was in the shape of a gigantic mechanical black spider, the other modeled after an oversized black Bulwark with numerous weapon enhancements. The spider began swinging its huge legs at Odin, the Eidolon dodging and shooting electricity from the giant blades that Lightning held in her hands. Odin jumped into the air, shooting more electricity at the spider, which backed down. The spider shuddered and shook, a large tail slithering out of its back end and curling up over its body. The creature at last looked like a giant scorpion instead of a spider. It began swinging its huge tail at the Eidolon who again dodged and weaved between swings. Odin bucked, then slammed its hooves into the head of the scorpion beast, Lightning taking the moment to swing the blades forward, channeling electricity directly into the monster. It let out mechanical howls and reared up, sending Odin flying back. Lightning glared at it, then looked down at the horse beneath her. "This is it!" she shouted. She stood up, Odin bucking once more, sending her flying into the air. As she reached the apex of her jump, she began to spin her body, the giant blades in her hands spinning with her. Electric arcs emitted from the blades, slicing into the scorpion, slicing off its tail and into the legs. The sound of shattering glass echoed throughout Eden as the creature burst into a million pieces like a porcelain plate. Lightning landed on Odin's back, the blades still in her hands.

Bahamut was busy dodging laser blasts coming from the giant Bulwark, missing the swing of its arms and then diving to miss bursts of red laser energy coming toward him. He shot up into the air and fired his own laser beams from his mouth, cutting into the machine. Without hesitating it charged up once more, a golden glyph appearing in front of his face. Missiles launched from its mouth, exploding as they hit the Warmech, sending it stumbling backwards. "Be a sweetheart and rain down hell!" Fang ordered with a chuckle. Bahamut quickly circled around, launching himself higher into the air, all of his energy channeling between his mandibles, a blue orb of power surging between them. He released it, the orb slamming down into the creature, both it and the super heated plasma exploding outward. Pieces fell at the feet of the Eidolons and fell off of the track to the world below. She landed the dragon in front of the other Eidolons, the group finally together again.

"We're going to have to walk the rest of the way, so be careful." Lightning said, just as a large rumbling sound began. Green and purple flashes of light went off, miniature transgates appearing like holes in space. From out of the holes came several Adamantoises, Behemoths, and various other Pulsian beasts. They flooded into Eden like a clown car, a seemingly never ending stream of creatures. Roads cracked and wall crumbled as the gargantuan Adamantoises trampled the streets. Their monstrous feet left holes in the roads as they walked, the slightly smaller Adamancheilds just cracking the pavement.

"They're too powerful, even the Eidolons don't stand a chance with those beasts," Fang warned. "We have no choice but to dodge them on foot. Trust me, we put up with these bastards for years before the war."

"Right, agreed. We have a long way to go so let's get to it," Lightning ordered. She leapt off Odin's back, connected the two scythes into a single blade and put it in his equestrian mouth. "Until next time!" she bid him goodbye and he ran into the sky, disappearing into a flash of light. Vanille waved her arms goodbye as Hecatoncheir jumped back into the ground. The Shiva sisters blew Snow a kiss as they ran off, shattering into icy dust. Brynhildr gave Sazh a salute as she jumped into the air, disappearing in a ball of flame.

"Thanks, big guy!" Hope bid Alexander goodbye, the massive Eidolon launching himself back into the sky like a row of rockets.

"Catch you later!" Fang laughed as Bahamut flew away into the sky, the sound of supersonic speed fading away. No longer perched atop their Eidolons, the team regrouped in front of a small door leading out of the Eden Raceway out into the downtown area.

"Lightning, take point, I'll bring up the back," Fang suggested. Lightning nodded, took lead, and the others followed, Fang watching their backs. For the moment they were safe, travelling through a long corridor filled with orange lights. It seemed as if the corridor was at least a mile, curving only part of the way in.

"Uh, where are we going exactly?" Sazh questioned, confused of the game plan.

"We have to make it through downtown Eden, trying not to get stomped on by those big beasts. The Behemoths and smaller beasts will be harder to dodge since they're so fast, but maybe the Sanctum army will keep their attention," Lightning explained.

"Once we get through downtown we should be at Eden Hall. Once we're in there we just need to break into entrance to Orphan's Cradle and then it's doomsday for that selfish bastard!" Snow added with enthusiasm.

"Hey ho, hey ho, it's off to Orphan we go!" Sazh sang. His chocobo chirped in agreement.

"Hey, Sazh?" Hope questioned. "Don't do that again," he joked.

"Heh, just adding a little humor there kid," Sazh replied. Everyone laughed, easing the tension a little.

"Al right guys, let's get a move on," Lightning said.

They spent most of the trip in silence, mostly because they all knew they were on their way to what could possibly be their deaths.


	8. Stage 8 Orphan's Cradle

**Securing Insecurities**

_**Stage 8 **__– Orphan's Cradle _

The trek from Eden Raceway to downtown Eden was largely uneventful. It had been easy to hide form the gargantuan Adamantoises and Adamancheilds**;** however**,** it had been a little more worrisome getting past the smaller beasts. Very few fights ensued, however, as they mostly took alleyways and smaller walkways to keep a low profile so that the larger enemies couldn't even get to them if they had been spotted. Within a little over an hour, the team arrived safely at the foot of Eden Hall.

Eden Hall was huge – the largest building in all of Eden and most likely anywhere else in Cocoon. It served as the home of the entire government – Dysley, Raines, all of them. It also served as the primary base for PSICOM and the Guardian Corps. Cavalry was housed elsewhere, as was the basic Eden police force. The building itself had a mostly glass floor, a huge open room at the entrance, surrounded by columns of shiny gold, leading up to an oversized bulkhead-style door. Nobody had ever seen beyond that bulkhead who wasn't a Sanctum employee and it was time Lightning and her friends broke that tradition.

The bulkhead didn't open easily. A small keypad sat at the left of the doorframe, demanding a code to enter. Fang tried to pry it open with her spear but to no avail. Finally, Sazh set to hacking into it as the others set to entertaining some unwanted guests that decided to show up. It took Sazh about fifteen minutes but he was able to force the bulkhead open and the small group slipped inside before slamming it down shut again.

On the other side of the bulkhead was a long hallway made up of reflective flooring, walls, and ceiling. It was dizzying and disorienting, but as long as they focused straight ahead, it wasn't so bad. The bulkhead, whose keypad Lightning made sure to shoot before the door slammed shut, held the soldiers and beasts at bay while they made their way into the deeper part of Eden Hall. The shiny hallway seemed to go on forever, but eventually it led to another bulkhead, Sazh hacking into that one a little faster since he had done it once already. Again, Lightning shot out the keypad as they made their exit.

On the other side of the second bulkhead they were greeted to something that looked more like a beautiful sanctuary than an office building. Trees, bushes, flowers, and other greenery traced the pathways, leading into a large courtyard. The courtyard was primary made up on a shallow fountain pool with tiny waterfalls lining the edges. Round platforms with balconies allowed them to cross from one side of the courtyard to the other. It was that side that they were interested in.

"Holy shit," Hope said in exasperation. Everyone stared at his exclamation, nobody used to hearing him use that sort of language. As they stood in front of the first platform they were faced with what had to be thirty soldiers. Mostly PSICOM it looked like, but also some others in there for good measure. They all looked rather serious and mean, armed to the teeth with guns, rockets, and manadrive. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to have to break through. No choice. They stand between us and the Cradle, if they want to put up a fight, we have no options but to take them out," Lightning said.

"I knew it wouldn't be so easy. Once we get through that gate we have no idea what we face over there either. May as well start getting our hands dirty now," Sazh added.

"We just run straight through, take out-" but Lightning didn't get to finish her sentence as a blinding flash filled the room. A ghostly howl echoed throughout the beautiful room, the light fading away to reveal something slightly more horrific than Sanctum soldiers.

"They're all Cie'th! But why?" Vanille cried.

"Orphan is being forced to defend itself. Cie'th are its strongest weapons against us," Fang explained.

"Oh, so we went from thirty-some armed soldiers to thirty-some ghastly Cie'th!" Sazh shouted. "Are we nuts? These guys have the same magic we have! We can't-"

Everyone was already moving into the fray. The first platform held around ten Cie'th. Snow was pounding into one with his fists, yelling obscenities of frustration and anger toward the undead creature. Two Cie'th were teaming up on Fang, who between her debilitating spells and quick fighting skills she made quick work of them. Lightning was on a three on one fight with a trio of Cie'th who were wildly swinging their huge arms at her, trying to bat her out of the air, however**,** her jumps and dodges proved to be enough and with a few well placed slashes of her sword and some blasts of magic, they were quickly felled. Vanille was using her Binding Rod to yank Cie'th to the floor, taking advantage of their vulnerable state to cast the powerful Death spells directly into their bodies. Sazh had finally gotten with the program and ran into the middle of the brawl, guns blazing. By then most of the Cie'th were disposed of and the second platform was being conquered. Hope threw his giant boomerang into the air, focusing control over it to smack Cie'th in the head, taking them off-guard while he flung elemental spells at them.

"Hey kid! You're doing pretty good over there!" Snow complimented as he jumped onto one of his own adversaries, pinning it to the ground before pummeling it in the face several times.

"Watch it, Snow!" Hope shouted back, throwing a blast of fire at a Cie'th that was about to slam its heavy arm into his back. "You have to be more careful!"

"This isn't playtime, get it together!" Lightning shouted over the din. Her voice was drowned out by the loud squeal of another of Vanille's death spells followed up by the massive crash of a thunderbolt from her own hands.

"At least we're putting these things out of their misery! Pretty cold blooded to kill regular humans, soldiers or not," Sazh said. The chocobo chick was hiding deep down in his afro, shaking just a little bit. The fight was intense, and was only going to get worse. Oh why couldn't he have been a moogle instead? The little bird's quandary was interrupted by the loud bang of Sazh's shotgun. "That'll get 'em!"

"They just keep coming! The more we kill the more that show up to attack!" Fang yelled as she drove her spear deep into the center of a Cie'th.

"Come on! Get to the gate! We can close them out once we're in!" Lightning called out. Vanille and Sazh were the first to the gate, Fang and Lightning not far behind.

"Hope! No!" Snow screamed, the teenager being picked up by a monstrous Cie'th and about to be thrown over the edge of the balcony. Snow ducked down and ran, slamming his shoulder into the monster's chest, causing it to twist and fall backward over the balcony itself, throwing Hope upward. "Got ya!" Snow cried as Hope landed in his arms. "Let's go!" He didn't even put the boy down but simply ran with him, not putting him down until they joined the others in front of the gate.

"That was close. Thanks, Snow," Hope said, blushing slightly. Snow smiled his big goofy grin at the kid and winked at him. Sazh was busy working on hacking into the gate, a much tougher project than either of the bulkheads. The Cie'th kept coming, Hope and Vanille blasting elemental and debilitating spells left and right at the oncoming monsters, Snow and Fang attempting to hold up a protection barrier that sadly, was not very strong due to their less skilled magical prowess.

"About damn time!" Sazh cursed, the lock giving up finally. The gate slid open, he and Lightning grabbing the edges of the doors and pulling them open faster. "Get in!"

Hope and Vanille backed in first, followed by Lightning and Sazh. Snow and Fang let down their barrier at the very last second as they half-backed up half-fell through the closing door. Thankfully the monstrous Cie'th wouldn't be able to get in – they had no fingers, only crystalline arms. The gate sealed, they turned around to see where they were – Orphan's Cradle.

Orphan's Cradle was nothing like anyone on Cocoon had ever seen before. The gateway was more of a portal into another dimension. Everything was open space, pink, red, white, and gold lights lit up the endless chamber – giant walkways moving about everywhere, a maze they would have to traverse to get to the end of the Cradle. To make matters worse, Cie'th roamed everywhere; fallen l'Cie who had failed their focus, forced to wander the vacuous Cradle for all eternity, their only purpose to keep Orphan safe from harm. Fortunately, a lot of the platforms and walkways were relatively narrow, thus making it much easier to force the Cie'th into oblivion.

The beginning hall of the Cradle was made up of large pearlescent walls, traversable by ramps and walkways. It looked like some sort of rat's maze in a beautiful hell. Everyone made their way from the gate to the first open area, turned a corner and continued on to the first series of platforms.

"Looks like we have to go up to go to the next section," Vanille said. "That sure is a lot of platforms…"

"No kidding. Can't we just use an Eidolon to cross?" Sazh inquired, really referring to Bahamut flying right into the opposite portal.

"Not an option. I can feel it in my body. The Eidolons have no power here. Summoning them would only cause them harm," Fang explained. "There's few places like that, but they all revolve around the most powerful fal'Cie."

"How do you know all this?" Sazh asked, bewildered.

"It's in the legends, in those historical documents we found in Oerba. Eidolons help us to find our focus, to put us on the right track again when we are going astray. They're a creation of the goddess, unlike our brands and our magic, which come from the fal'Cie that made us. The fal'Cie's power is valid here, but hers is not. That includes the Eidolons."

"Wait, I thought Orphan wanted to be destroyed. Wouldn't it want the Eidolons to come and help the l'Cie?" Sazh asked again.

"Good point, - I don't have an answer for that. But the point is, the Eidolons are no good here. We need to get moving."

"Hey! Where's Lightning? And Snow and Hope!" Vanille cried out, noticing they were actually missing not one, but three party members.

Lightning turned back, noticing that two of their party had fallen behind. Damned boys, always goofing off, never taking anything seriously! She actually had higher expectations of Hope than she did of Snow - the man who would always be a little boy in her mind. Rolling her eyes at her own thoughts, she turned the corner to see something she never expected.

"Snow! You fucking idiot! What are you doing!" Lightning screamed at the top of her lungs. Snow released Hope from his arms, breaking their kiss in the process. He didn't let the boy far however, standing in front of him, holding his hand more for his own comfort than Hope's.

"Light! Calm down, you don't know-" Snow began, but she had closed the short distance between them and punched him square in the jaw, sending him stumbling back, almost tripping over his young counterpart.

"Shut up, I don't want to hear it!" she yelled, massaging her fist with her other hand. "You." She pointed at Hope. "Go on up with the rest of the group. We'll talk later." Hope was shaking in fear, not so much for himself, but for Snow. He would be looked at as the victim, the young boy being molested by the older man, the lecherous demon! All Lightning saw was her soon to be brother-in-law kissing on another guy who happened to be much younger than he, not even an adult yet! Hope looked up at Snow, nervousness in his eyes. Snow nodded at him.

"Go on, do what she says. I'll be fine," Snow explained. He gave Hope's hand a squeeze and urged him forward. Hope couldn't bring himself to even look at Lightning as he hurried past her. He had no intentions of joining the rest of the group - instead he hid around the side of the wall where Lightning had emerged from when she saw them kissing. He wanted to hear what was going on, he wanted to save Snow if he had to, even though he knew he didn't stand a chance against Lightning, not that he wanted to have to fight her in the first place.

"You asshole!" Lightning shouted, punching Snow in the chest. Again he stumbled back. "You fucking asshole! How can you do this? How! How can you do this to Serah? To that kid? I was stupid to finally start and trust you back in the Springs! How could I be so foolish?" she shrieked. She wasn't waiting for answers, she continued to verbally assault him and punch him in the chest. Finally he was able to grab hold of her fists in his hands and push her back.

"Calm down, dammit! You don't even know what's going on!" Snow bellowed.

"I don't need to know! All I know is that I come around the corner to see my sister's fiancé making out with some kid!" Lightning had never been so angry in her entire life.

"No, you do need to listen, because you don't even know what's going on!"

"What's going on is you are cheating on my sister with a little boy!" she roared.

"He's not a little boy, Light. He's a young man," Snow argued. Lightning glared at him with an icy cold stare. "You don't understand."

"I don't need to understand," she hissed back at him. "Do you know what this will do to Serah? How this will fuck with that kid's mind? She'll be devastated and so will he, and you're responsible for both!" Angry tears formed in her eyes. She had finally begun to accept that her sister was going to marry this big lug, but then he goes on to do something so stupid. So selfish.

"Lightning, please! Listen to me!" Snow pleaded. She had stopped attempting to hit him since he shoved her away, but she was still fuming.

"I warned you Snow Villiers! I told you countless times if you break her heart, I would break you. Don't think I won't make good on my promise. Serah will be heart broken, and Hope will be too. You've ruined two lives just so you can get your dick sucked by a kid? Fucking pedophile," she raged.

"Would you shut up and listen to me! I am trying to explain something to you!" he roared over her, his face turning red from anger.

"Fine, explain away. And then I'll explain to Serah why I broke your face," she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Snow sighed.

"Look, I don't know what has happened, okay? I never intended for this to happen. From day one I have been in this to rescue Serah - to find her, get her out of stasis, and marry her and have a family. But-" he paused, trying to gather his wits about him.

"Well? Go on, I'm listening," Light replied sarcastically.

"That was what I wanted. But then, things happened. Palumpolum. Hope. He tried to kill me, but- somehow in that time there, we grew closer. Since we came to Pulse, things have been changing inside us. And- and I don't know why," he explained.

"So if you'd rather be with this boy, and forget about Serah, then why are you still looking to save her?" she questioned coldly.

"I didn't say that. I don't want to forget about Serah. I still want to keep her safe! But there's these feelings I have for Hope, too. I'm confused; I don't know what to do! I wish I did, but I don't. Just like I don't know how to ever make up for getting his mother killed..."

"Oh, so that's what this is about? Trying to make up for his mother's death? By toying with his heart?"

"No! I didn't say that! Stop putting words in my mouth! I just meant that I don't know what to do to make this situation come out right. If I stay with Serah, I hurt Hope. If I stay with Hope, I hurt Serah. Either way one of the people I care about gets hurt, and I lose out on one or the other!" he began to cry. Snow Villiers, the hero and master of stoicism, began to cry. Lightning was shocked into silence - he didn't cry even when Serah went into stasis, but here he was, crying over the conundrum of choosing one over the other.

Hope heard everything, tears in his own eyes, as it was really time to discover the outcome of the entire situation. From the first night in Oerba, he had wondered what was going to happen – if he would be set-aside for Serah or if he was going to become Snow's prize, but never had Snow made a commitment either way. Lightning was going to make him choose, right then, at that very moment. No more stalling, no more juggling options or weighing insecurities. He was going to have to either abandon Serah in her crystal stasis, or he was going to have to give up Hope. Neither outcome ended well. Lightning was letting him have it, too. She was not holding back one bit. When it came to Serah, she had no mercy. He was afraid for Snow, despite being so strong and solid, he would never let himself willingly hurt Lightning for he may as well be hitting Serah, hence why he only defended himself and didn't fight back at Lightning's barrage of punches. Hope slowly crept around the wall, staying as quiet as possible. He had been tempted to say something – stand up for Snow, stand up for himself. He hated that she was demeaning him, calling him a kid, a little boy, calling Snow a pedophile, but he knew deep down that Lightning was only looking out for her sister – all else was unimportant. His emotions finally getting the better of him, he finally stepped out, fully in view of them both – that is if only Snow looked up and Lightning turned around. Snow's face was in his hands, however, loud sobs coming from him. Lightning simply stood there, staring at him with frozen eyes.

"Tell me you don't love her," Lightning said to Snow point blank. He looked up at her, their eyes meeting. "Tell me you don't love Serah."

"I... I do love Serah. But... I'm not _in_ love with her anymore," he cried harder. "I'm sorry! Oh god Serah I'm so sorry! This wasn't what I intended to happen but oh god it did, and I can't take it back! Forgive me Serah, I know you can hear me!"

"No, you're wrong. She can't hear you. Not like this, not in stasis. But I hear you and that's just as bad," Lightning said sternly. "Now, tell me how you feel about the kid."

"Stop calling him that," Snow's voice turned hard. He had stopped crying and stood up straight. His eyes were swollen from his violent sobs, and his face a deep red. "He's not a kid. He's a young man. He's grown up. He's strong, and smart… He's a lot more of a man than I could be! And..." he was having trouble getting the rest out, choking on his words.

"And?" she questioned. "And what, Snow? And what?"

"And I love you, Hope Estheim. I love you," Snow said softly, staring past Lightning, right into the teen's eyes, Lightning turning around to stare at their silent observer, the teenager she had to accept had grown up quickly since their first meeting. The teenager that was inadvertently stealing away her sister's heart and soul.

Hope's eyes became waterfalls; tears pouring down his red cheeks in sheets. He ran past Lightning, not even paying attention that she was there, and leapt right up into Snow's open arms. "I love you too, Snow! I love you too!" he cried, burying his face in Snow's chest. Snow wrapped his arms around him, crying once more. Lightning stared at them. It wasn't Hope's fault. It was all Snow. Lightning finally addressed them.

"Don't think that this will be over, Snow Villiers. We will never be 'okay,' but for his sake, don't fuck it up. As for Serah, you better pray that she is ready to forgive you, because I am not," she shook her head and turned away from them. "Never forget that you made this choice yourself, and you are responsible for Serah. You want to be a man? Own up when we see her. Don't make her continue to suffer." As she walked away she muttered to herself; "If you break his heart too, I'll kill you, if Serah doesn't first."

"You went a lot easier on him than I would have," Fang said, leaning up against the glowing white wall, waiting for Lightning to come back. "I would have torn off his-"

"Shut up, Fang." Lightning hissed. Fang took her by the shoulder.

"Look, I'm just saying you were more human than I would have been. And smarter."

"What do you mean?" Light asked, not understanding where she was getting at.

"Look at me and Vanille. It's hard as hell for me, but I have to let her make her own choices sometimes. If she doesn't, she'll never grow up. That's the hardest thing for me to accept. I can't protect her forever. And you can't protect Serah forever. Snow had to make his own choices, so does Hope, and so does Serah. And so do you, Claire."

Lightning shot her a death stare at the use of her real name, but then again, what Fang was saying made perfect sense. She couldn't protect Serah from everything. She couldn't stop her from turning into l'Cie, she couldn't save her from her focus, and she couldn't save her from stasis.

"You're strong, but if you don't accept that you have to let them live out their lives, make their mistakes, then you are a fool and weak," Fang continued. She knew the raven-haired woman was right, Serah had to make her own choices and handle her own problems. She had faced her fate as a l'Cie, and fulfilled her focus even by accident. When she came out of stasis she would be faced with the reality of Snow and Hope being together, and her lover having deserted her. She would be heartbroken, but even if Light beat Snow to a bloody pulp, it would change nothing. Serah would still have to grieve, still accept the fact that she had to move on. She would have to find someone else. Nothing Lightning did would change any of that. Only Serah could face it. That was life. Secretly, she always thought at the back of her mind that Serah could do better than Snow anyway. Well, maybe it wasn't a secret – everyone knew of her dislike of Snow, even though nobody knew the history behind it. In her mind, nobody would ever be good enough for Serah.

"Fine. You make a good point. Doesn't mean I have to like it. And it doesn't mean we have to talk about it, either," Lightning said, walking away from Fang, who was smirking. Before she could follow, Hope and Snow came up behind her.

"Well there you are. Now the hard part's over, can we get moving and finish this?" Fang asked. Snow shook his head.

"No, the hard part is yet to come. Serah. I have until we deal with Orphan to figure out what to do about her, but my decision has been made. I'm staying with Hope," Snow explained to her. He put his arm around his young partner, looking down and giving him a smile.

"Alright whatever kids. Lets get going, all this mush is making me nauseous and we haven't even set off yet." Perhaps she was just jealous that her relationship with Vanille was still so ambiguous. Snow and Hope had things figure out all in the open and knowing what they felt. She and Vanille, however, hadn't even begun to entertain their own feelings for one another. Maybe she was too afraid to bring it up, afraid she might only be imagining or misreading V'nille's affections. That would crush her more than any beast on Pulse. Blinking the insecure thoughts away, Fang brought up the end of the group, keeping an eye out for more Cie'th.

The trio of stragglers finally caught up, passing by Lightning as she slowly trudged forward, her mind running miles per minute. As Hope passed by her she grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Hope?" she said, the boy turning around, terrified at the woman he felt had become like an older sister to him. No, not a sister, a mother. She lifted his chin and stared him in the eyes. "Hope, I'm sorry – for the things I said. You're not a kid or a little boy. You really have grown up since you started towing behind me at the Vile Peaks. You grew up and I didn't even see it until now. I'm just worried about Serah."

"I know, Light. I'm sorry too. I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. I don't know how this happened but I-" he couldn't even finish his sentence before she interrupted him.

"Don't. Just don't - apologies and doubts do no good now. Just love him with everything you have. Keep him safe. I may think he's a big jerk, but he's _your_ big jerk, and you need to be the man you are and do right by him," Lightning went on. She pulled the boy close and hugged him; something she hadn't done since she had last seen Serah alive.

"Come on, Light. We have a world to save," Hope smiled. He knew she was still furious with Snow, but she didn't blame the younger man for his feelings. Snow had been given the choice – he could have done right by Serah and turned the boy down, but he gave in to his emotions and left her for him. That was just the way it was going to have to be. Serah would cope. Snow had made his choice.

As the small band of warriors expected, the trek across Orphan's Cradle was not an easy one. The endless hallway seemed to live up to its name – it felt like the further away they got from the entrance portal, the further away they got from the exit portal. Battles with Cie'th were few – most of them simply walked around aimlessly, not even noticing the trespassers. The few battles they did have were short; magic and weapons quickly knocking the Cie'th into the great abyss, their fall lasting for eternity. Their magic seemed to fluctuate in power the longer they stayed in the Cradle. At times they seemed very powerful, even their weak spells having greater effect. Other times it felt as if their power was waning – their strongest spells only coming out as forceful as their weakest spells.

Their brands were also burning. Not debilitating so, but it was a constant throbbing pain that was drawing their attention away from their goal. Each time they used a spell, their brands would surge with power, causing a sharp spike of pain emitting from their brands, reminding them of their borrowed time and power.

Time, too, seemed to be mixed up in the Cradle. Timepieces were useless, Sazh frowning at his watch when the hands began to spin out of control. It had felt like hours, but also felt like minutes, and even like days. It was as inconsistent as their magic. Several times they had to stop to regroup, attempting to get a grasp on their progress. It seemed that the wavering time was what was messing with their perception of how far the portal was.

Giant columns much like an ancient statuary garden surrounded the exit portal. It was void of Cie'th, the only way to the platform was via a small walkway that they could barely traverse, let alone Cie'th get past with their ambling and unsteady gaits. The portal glowed a very dark purple and black, sending chills into the air around them.

"It looks like it might be game time." Sazh announced as they set foot on the platform. "I hope somebody brought popcorn."

"Is everyone ready for this? We may not come back alive. None of us knows what's coming up beyond this vortex," Lightning questioned. "Anyone want to back out now, then go ahead and make your way back to Eden by yourself."

Nobody answered her in the negative.

"Let's get this over with. I'm ready to get rid of these goofy tattoos!" Snow remarked, rubbing the brand on his forearm.

"I'm ready. It's time to make up for what happened in the war centuries ago," Vanille rationalized. Fang nodded her agreement.

"Let's go, I know we can complete whatever Focus it is we have, let's just do it and see what happens," Hope suggested. He met eyes with Snow, both of them nervous for the other. Snow snuggled up next to him and held his hand.

"We'll get through this. All of us. Don't be afraid," Snow whispered to Hope. Maybe if they both believed it enough, they would really make it through what was beyond the portal. He reached down to the end of his sash and tore off a part of the bottom – a large square of fabric. He took Hope's hand, untied the yellow bandanna he had wrapped around his wrist, and stuffed it in his pocket. Then he folded the cloth over and wrapped it around the young man's wrist, replacing the bandanna with his own bracelet. "Here, keep this. For luck. I'll keep yours. Here, tie it around my wrist," Snow said, taking the yellow piece of material back out of his pocket and handing it to his boyfriend. Hope gently tied it around Snow's wrist just as Snow had done for him, carefully positioning it right under where the edge of his glove was. "There, now we're together even if we're apart," Snow said, smiling. He leaned down and kissed the young man, their fingers interlocked as they held hands.

"I love you, Snow," Hope declared.

"I love you too, Hope," Snow replied, smiling.

"If you two are quite finished, we have things to do. You can bugger each other after we save the world," Fang chided. Both men's cheeks turned bright red as they blushed, not needing Fang to point out that they were indeed having sexual intimacy.

"You know, Fang, I always liked you. Direct and to the point. I expect Sunday dinners with me and Dajh when all this is over. All of us, together, for something happy for once!" Sazh announced, putting his arm on Fang's shoulder. The chocobo chick popped out of his afro long enough to cheer his approval, leapt onto Fang's other shoulder and nuzzled her neck. She giggled – something Fang never did – and pet the little creature on the head before he took his place back in Sazh's afro.

"I might just agree to that," she replied with a smirk.

"Alright, let's get this over with," Lightning directed. "Weapons at the ready, be on your guard. This is it."


	9. Stage 9 Serah

**Securing Insecurities**

_**Stage 9 **__– Serah_

_Eden, The Night of the Assault on Palumpolum_

Barthandelus strode into the pure white room deep in the heart of Eden, a room that had but three doors – one of which was hidden in the wall. Only he knew of its existence, and only he could open it. He placed his hand on the square pillar in the center of the room, the wall suddenly aglow with the brand of a Cocoon fal'Cie. Barthandelus stepped forward, walking directly through the wall, down a long stair well, and underneath Orphan's Cradle.

"Ah, the beautiful Serah Farron. Still asleep in your crystal prison," he cooed, gently stroking the fragile figure sitting on a marble stand in the middle of the room. "It's time for you to wake up, my dear." He snapped his fingers and the crystal shattered, a shell that covered the human l'Cie. On top of the shards of crystalline dust lay Serah, her clothes reappearing on her body, color returning to her skin, her body breathing forth new life. Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up.

"Where am I?" she cried, not recognizing the dark room. It was solid black – a direct contrast to the room above – the light in the room pale and coming from an unknown source. "Snow? Snow! Where are you? Where am I?" she panicked.

"Calm down, dear. Everything will be alright. You're in Eden."

"What? Why am I in Eden? Where is everyone? Snow, Lightning?" she cried. Tears were already beginning to seep from her big eyes. She hadn't even bothered to notice how cold she was in her very simple, light outfit.

"They aren't here yet. They're still training, like the tools that they are. All good tools need calibration, afterall," Barthandelus explained. "And yes, my dear, you are but another tool of the fal'Cie."

"W-what? Tools? What's-" Serah was in shock. The man who awakened her from what was supposed to be her eternal slumber was instead attempting to use her for some sort of ulterior purpose.

"Their purpose is not for you to understand, you need only know your own purpose."

"My purpose? What are you talking about? Where's Snow?" she demanded. Barthandelus half-smiled and gave her a sideways glare as he paced the room.

"Snow will be here soon enough. Your purpose? I suppose it can't hurt for you to know your role. You, my dear, will become the mighty Ragnarok. You understand that this is truly an honor," he explained. The look on her faced said differently.

"An honor? How can becoming a beast be an honor? Why would I want to do that?"" Tears were steadily streaming steadily down her face, her modest makeup beginning to run down her cheeks. All she wanted was to go home, to find Snow and Lightning and go home.

"You don't have a choice. You will despair, and you will become Ragnarok."

"Why? What's the point?" she demanded, her voice shaky.

"Why to destroy Orphan of course." He strode past her and placed her fingertips against her forehead, causing her to pass out on the table.

_Eden – During the Arrival on Pulse_

Serah heard a soft hissing down as the door to her prison slid open. She had awoken in a solid black room with a crazy man, and after talking to him she passed out. The next time she woke up she had been moved to a different room, solid white this time. Appearing to be made of pure iron. The only furniture in the room was a chair that mimicked a modernized throne. Four tables sat in the center of the room, flanking the throne on either side. One was made up for her, a place to sleep, the place she woke up the second time. From the ceiling hung several crystal slates with various patterns on them. The light in the room was so bright that it gave her a slight headache.

"Hello again my dear," the sinister voice of Barthandelus said with a hint of amusement. "Enjoying your stay I hope."

"Let me go home. Please, I just want to see Snow, and Lightning. I want to leave here!" Serah demanded yet pleaded at the same time.

"I can't do that, I'm afraid. But I can let you watch him. Yes, I think that will be best. I'll let you see them both," he taunted. He looked upward, one of the slates lowering from the ceiling and placing itself in front of them both. It flickered brightly and then crystal clear images began to show. At first they were stills, then merged into actual motion. "Ah yes, here we are. We can spy on them all we want to, using this gift of the fal'Cie. I will let you watch everything as it unfolds. It will be just like you were there!" Barthandelus cackled loudly, a noise that was unbecoming to him but somehow fit his sinister soul.

"Snow!" Serah cried upon seeing the small group at camp somewhere. "Where are they?"

"They just arrived on Gran Pulse. A hasty retreat from the Fifth Ark led them to a rather rough landing. Beautiful, isn't it?" Serah ignored his taunt, staring at the screen before her as the actions unfurled. She watched as the group began to panic for some reason, then ran off-screen. A moment later the view shifted, a large machine-like creature filling the screen, threatening everyone.

"What is all this?" she asked, puzzled.

"Well, that is his friends and their trials. The big beast there is what's called an Eidolon, a creature that you never sought assistance from. I think you know that one there – your sister. She's looking rather well, isn't she? Those two there," he said, pointing at Fang and Vanille with a sneer, "are failed l'Cie – those who couldn't manage to complete their focus but left a ragged hole in your home of Cocoon. That one there is the father of another l'Cie, one who has not yet awakened."

"The young boy!" she shrieked. She remembered seeing him in a dream, or what she thought was a dream. In it, a young boy was turned into crystal stone, no older than five or six years old. She didn't understand why she was given that scene in her head, or even how she remembered it.

"Yes, the one you saw in your sleep. He was quite useful," Barthandelus stated. A very slight grin was forming on his wicked lips.

"What about him? What has he done?" she asked, pointing at Hope.

"Oh, yes, him. He's a special case. Snow killed his mother. And then almost died trying to protect him. Isn't that the conundrum?" His grin spread fully, his eyes twinkling with pure and utter cruelty.

"Wh-wh-what?" she stammered. Her whole body was shaking. "No! Snow would never kill someone! Especially someone's mother!" she shrieked. "You're lying!"

"I am afraid not. He caused her death, and then he tries to protect her son. I think you should keep an eye on both of them. You may see a side of Snow that you didn't know was there. The side of a cold blooded killer," he went on. Serah was furious. She jumped out of the chair and lunged at Barthandelus, beating her fists against his chest. He simply laughed and turned into a hologram, sending the young woman sprawling to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Yes, poor l'CIe. Despair. Despair," he said, then disappeared, leaving her a mess on the cold floor of the white room, the screen still playing.

_Eden – Sulyya Springs_

Serah sat in either awe or horror as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. Snow, Sazh, and Hope were bathing in Sulyya Springs, one of the most beautiful places Serah had ever seen. She was slightly jealous that Snow was getting to see so many exotic locations without her, despite the incredibly danger the world below held for them. It was when Snow coaxed Hope into the water that she began to feel insecure in herself. She watched intently as the two of them waded to the deeper part of the spring, the young boy clutched on to him with all his might. She couldn't hear what they were saying, just the sounds of a waterfall, splashing, and echoes in the cavernous area. Snow and the boy seemed to stay glued to each other for far longer than she thought made sense, but having not been able to hear, she brushed it off for the moment. It looked like perhaps he was teaching Hope how to swim, and he was scared and maybe got out too deep. It was hard to tell. As she watched the scene in silence, Barthandelus watched her from his own screen elsewhere in Eden, a cruel smile on his face.

_Eden – Oerba, Day 1_

"I almost wish I couldn't see any of this," Serah whispered to herself. She had seen no one in days – Barthandelus her only contact to the outside. Each visit be made he brought with him some food and water for her, but nothing more. It was evident his only desire was to have her watch the scenes as they unfolded. For her it was like a television show she couldn't escape.

Serah sobbed with tears as she watched Fang and Vanille's painful return to Oerba. Again she had trouble hearing the scene, but she could see clear as day. How was he even getting this kind of view into everything going on? It must be some sort of fal'Cie magic. Her curiosity finally got the best of her and she demanded from Barthandelus more information.

"Oh my dear, my magic is something you can't comprehend. My owl," he explained, "allows me to see wherever he can go. His cloaking ability keeps him from sight. It really is a wonder of the fal'Cie that he can do this. How else do you think I am able to weave everything into place exactly as I need it to be?"

"You're insane. You're cruel. You gain nothing from this-" Serah began.

"Do not make the mistake of boring me with your diatribes. Go back to watching your show. Here, let me turn up the volume." With a wave of his hand, the sound increased so that Serah could hear everything as clearly as she saw the image. She glared harshly at the evil man who disappeared, then focused on the screen once more.

"Oh my-" Serah began but she couldn't finish – her mouth ran dry as she watched her fiancé undress and join his young protégé in a makeshift bed on the floor of an Oerban home. Her whole body was shaking as her eyes were glued to the scene, the image going blurry as tears flowed down her face like a waterfall. She slammed her eyes shut as if to block it out but the sound of Snow and Hope's sexual encounter filled the room. The moans, the grunts, the sounds of pure sex. The sound of a grown man de-virginizing a young boy.

"Noooo!" she screamed. Her voice was hoarse, her throat dry. "Noo…" she continued to sob. She put her hands over her ears, thinking maybe if she stopped watching and stopped listening it would all go away like a bad dream, but it wouldn't. The damage was done – the images were stuck in her head, playing over and over again. She cried and cried until she fell asleep, her body so weak from wracking sobs that it gave out on her and forced slumber upon her aching head.

_Eden – Oerba, Day 2_

Serah sat in her prison, her knees drawn up to her chest, her face buried in her arms as she tried to drown out the vision of Snow and Hope once again bathing down by the side of the building they fornicated in. She couldn't bear to think of the words 'fuck', 'sex', 'screw' or any other vulgarities. It brought cruel images to her mind that she knew were not characteristic of Snow, whether he was with her or with someone else.

Hours later, Serah watched as Hope ran out of another cottage, sobbing. Vanille ran after him and they had a long conversation, one that was painful to hear. As painful as it was, her heart went out to the boy – it wasn't his choice. Snow was a grown man. She knew just how magnetic his personality was, how wonderful of a person he was. It was only natural that someone with such inclinations as Hope had would become attracted to him. She watched once more as later on, Hope confronted Snow with his feelings. The conversation was even more painful to hear. She stopped looking at the screen – the images made it too real, too solid. It was too much to bear.

"Yes, despair l'Cie. Despair and feel your heart become filled with rage and sadness. Become Ragnarok," Barthandelus cooed in her ear during one of his visits – she couldn't remember which. She only wanted him gone forever.

It was when she saw Snow interacting with her image at the bridge of Oerba that she began to get a slight feeling of comfort. He still loved her. He hadn't totally abandoned her. Unfortunately for her, she didn't know what was going to happen when they reached the Cradle.

_Eden – Orphan's Cradle_

Serah had tired of trying to block out the images of Snow and Hope. She was however fascinated with the entire tale as it unfolded. Her heart was aching, feeling abandoned and lost, but she had given in and was now actually feeling for Hope. She knew how he felt – lost and confused. She felt the same way when she became a l'Cie. She was terrified; she had no idea what to do or where to go. If it hadn't been for Snow, she would have probably given in to the idea of becoming Cie'th just to make it all stop and keep from hurting anyone. Snow kept her going, though. So did Lightning. Light was harsh and misunderstood the ordeal; she even threatened Serah, but despite the hurt it caused, she understood as well. Her baby sister was marked as an enemy of her very own home. It must have been a shock, to suddenly be faced with such a thing. She forgave Light almost instantly, even if she hadn't actually told her. _Oh, Light, I'm so sorry for not telling you sooner. For letting you think I was still upset about your reaction._

Serah watched as the entourage entered Orphan's Cradle, disappearing from view of anyone in Eden. Orphan's Cradle was actually like a separate dimension created by the fal'Cie that connected the gate in Eden to the gate where Orphan actually resided. Everything was actually inside Eden, just the pathway was in an interlocking ever shifting chamber that seemed to go on forever. Her eyes stayed glued to the screen as she watched Snow and Hope lagging behind, only to share a warm embrace and a touching kiss. Tears flowed once more as she stared in shock as her sister appeared from around a corner and began shouting at Snow. She was tearing him apart, hitting him and yelling. Her ears hurt as the sound of Lightning's ranting. She smiled a little bit at the way Lightning was standing up for her. Even if Light still thought Serah was upset with her, she still defended her to the very end. _Thank you, Light._ She thought.

Serah returned her attention below, wiping her eyes dry as Snow explained his feelings for her. It shattered her heart when she heard the words – "I love her but I'm not in love with her anymore." It was harsh and cruel to hear, but she understood why he was saying it. In their minds there was a chance of brining her back from stasis, but she just knew in their hearts they felt it was chasing shadows to think she would ever be revived from eternal sleep. The heart would go on to find other love. That's what had happened to Snow. She was convinced that was the answer. His heart had given up, had sensed she was gone and was aching to move on. That didn't make it any easier for her, but the logic of it at least made sense to her.

"Snow… Oh Snow…" she breathed. Barthandelus wanted her to despair, she was despairing. It was over. She and Snow were over. He no longer was in love with her. But wait… he was still coming for her. He was right – he may no longer be in love with her, but he still loved her, very much, to continue on, his mind convinced she would come back. What would she do when she returned? If she returned? Barthandelus wanted her to turn into some ancient beast, but to do that she would have to have given up, to give in to the despair. No! She wouldn't do that! She may be hurt, she may be in pain, but becoming this beast to cause mayhem and destruction was not the answer. Barthandelus appeared before her.

"Pitiful l'Cie. You despair now, you will be the impetus that rises the beast. I will pick one of your brethren and together you will become Ragnarok," he stated gleefully. "They are not far now. Come, we must go to the chamber to meet them." Serah was on her hands on knees on the floor, the tears on her face drying up. She closed her eyes, thinking only of Snow and Lightning.

"No," she said softly. "No?" he questioned.

"No. I won't do it."

"You don't have a choice. Your despair will help you change. With the right catalyst you will give in," he explained. He hadn't expected her to argue with him, he expected her to fall in a crumbled mess at his feet, begging for the release. But no, she was instead being defiant.

"No. I refuse. I won't turn into that awful beast to do your bidding!" she shouted. She stood up to face him, a new resolve in her eyes. "I won't spoil this world."

"But you see, your love has deserted you! He has left you, abandoned you! He cares more about a child than you!" he raised his voice at her.

"No! That is not true! You're a fool, old man! He may have changed the direction his heart goes, but he still loves me, and he is still coming for me! My sister too! She may have had a bad reaction at first but can't you see? She is coming for me! Her getting involved was all to protect me, and she hasn't given up on me!"

"But he has. He has given up," he taunted, referring to his change of heart. Serah didn't falter, however.

"No, he hasn't. He's coming for me. They all are! And your stupid plan will fail! I won't despair your way. I'll feel my pain my own way, I'll deal with it and overcome my pain."

"Why? Why deal with pain when you can cause it instead?

"Because there's plenty worth saving. For every ounce of pain there is a gallon of love in the world. People are afraid of what they don't understand. People are scared to act, and scared to do the right thing, but it's in their hearts. There's more love in this world than you can fathom, fear is all that is in the way," she went on.

"Their fear is because of you, because of the l'Cie! You cause your own torment, foolish girl!"

"Wrong again. They fear the fal'Cie. You treat us like pets, you give so that you can rule over us, and what we fear is losing that. That fear is what stands in our way. The l'CIe are tools of the fal'Cie, they can be 'dealt with' as if it were a blow to the fal'Cie, but ultimately it is the fal'Cie that are at the root of our fear, and it's time that stopped! With everything to love in the world, there is plenty to save." Serah's arm began to throb and pulse, her brand burning as it glowed a fluorescent rainbow of colors. She knelt to the floor once more, the pain excruciating. She knew in her heart, however, that it was herself, her own power blooming inside her.

"See, you fail, l'Cie. Now become ready to despair and seal yourself as Ragnarok." He ordered, his patience thin and his voice laced with anger.

"No, I won't!" Serah screamed as the burning increased until she felt like she may pass out. Then the room began to fill with bright color, even Barthandelus having to shield his eyes. A loud screeching roar came forth into the room, squeals and booms as something arrived in the room with them. Suddenly the sound of shattering crystal filled the room and a loud squeal accompanying a bright orange laser light filled the room. Serah opened her eyes and stood up, breathing heavily. Behind her was a large creature – a shade of olive green with wide wings wrapped in shredded cloth. It had a long beak and small eyes that glared harshly at Barthandelus. It brought its wings down around Serah as if to shield her from harm.

"Valefor," Serah cooed, the word popping in her head as if she had always known it. "Finally, I meet my Eidolon," she said. Barthandelus was furious, never expecting her Eidolon to come forth. But why? Why had to come forth and why had she not had to tame it the way a l'Cie usually had to?

"Valefor is born of love, not despair. Only because of that do we not have to face each other in battle!" Serah explained, still unsure of where the information was coming from. Perhaps the Eidolon was communicating with her telepathically? Whatever the case, she felt even more resolve now armed with a weapon. "Get us out of here," she commanded the bird-like creature. Valefor jumped up a little bit so that she was aloft, staring down at the entrance to the room. It steeled itself before letting out a loud screech, the orange laser once again streaming from its mouth. There was a loud explosion as the door was wrenched from the wall, an exit suddenly made for them. Barthandelus had disappeared – she wasn't sure if it was before or after the explosion, but he wasn't there. Serah looked around, all of the crystal shattered and littering the floor, the tables knocked to the floor by Valefor's beautiful wings.

"Let's go," she said, ducking through the door, Valefor wrapping herself up and gliding through the hole in the wall before stretching out again in the giant hallway. What stopped her escape however was the sudden realization that she had no idea where to go. The place she was in could be huge or small, there was no telling, and she had a feeling it was very easy to get lost. Valefor decided it best to help out and again the squeal of her laser filled the room. Another wall exploded outward, allowing further movement through what she figured had to be a labyrinth beneath the seat of the Sanctum. She had to hurry, she needed to make it where the others were going in time to alert them to her safety, and to try and stop them from becoming Ragnarok.


	10. Stage 10 Fall

_**Author's Notes**__:____It has been a long and fun journey for me writing this story. I never imagined I would get as addicted to FanFiction as I have, and I owe a lot of it to the support I have gotten from readers and friends. When you're being encouraged and pushed along, you can't help but keep going. G-AnakinRPG has helped with that a lot – he has ensured my work has gone out of the door at the best of my ability and nothing less. Best. Beta. Ever. This last chapter has gone through the most edits and drafts and rewrites out of the entire tale, so it has surely had a lot of thought put into it for a sending off. I hope you enjoy the final chapter, and please continue your support, it makes me happy and keeps me going. _

**Securing Insecurities**

_**Stage 10 **__– Fall _

Six friends stepped out into the void that presented itself at the end of Orphan's Cradle. A beautiful pristine white room with only one entrance and only one visible exit allowed them to step away from the harsh surreal world of the cradle right back to the heart of Eden, the holme of the fal'Cie that powered the world – Orphan.

"Let's do this," Lightning said, marching through the open bulkhead door leading to the real Cradle. The others followed on her heels, the six of them stopping when they reached the end of a large platform coated with a red carpet, outlined with glowing light.

"Ready?" she asked, looking down below them. The home of Orphan was impossible to describe. The balcony they stood on overlooked a massive spherical room. Four antenna-like protrusions were aimed at the very center, their structures made up of cogs, springs, cables, glass plating, gold décor accompanied by a faint hum. It was as if four diabolical clocks were aiming laser guns at the throne before them. The throne looked to be made of white marble, the symbol of Cocoon's fal'Cie etched in it, more clock-like décor adorning the back of it, as well as below it and on the arms. The floor it sat on was amazingly beautiful – gold and steel girders crisscrossing in a pattern, glass plating over top of it all, revealing the glowing water below it. Directly behind the throne was a large circle of floor that had been removed, the pure and glowing water in unobstructed view. It was all very bright – the glow from the water reflecting off of the clock turrets and gold plates and glass. Under different circumstances, it would have been awe-inspiring. Instead, it was haunting and eerie.

The entire room began to tremble, the party finding it difficult to maintain stance atop the balcony.

"This is it. Moment of truth, hero," Light nudged Snow as she leapt down from the balcony to the ground below. The others followed her, landing on the ornate glass floor. Looking around, they could see more thick cables hanging down the walls, the ticking of the turrets echoing as they moved.

The sound of shattering crystal filled the room as bright green and bright blue lights shone in two human shapes. They solidified into the crystallized bodies of Serah Farron and Dajh Katzroy.

"Life's spark shines on, once freed from its fleshy shroud," a familiar voice announced. At the same time, a mechanical owl came flying into the room, the bulkhead door sealing shut behind it. It circled the ceiling a moment, distracting the group from Barthandelus' entrance through a rip in the fabric of reality before the throne. "Dreams, meanwhile, shatter in a flash." He sat in the throne, holding his staff in his right hand. He tapped it smartly on the ground twice, one crystal shattering at each tap.

"Dajh!" Sazh cried out in horror as he saw his crystalline son turn into numerous shards of blue crystal that fell to the floor below and melted through to the water underneath it. Snow screamed his own protest of anger when the same happened to Serah, her shards a deep green color. Snow lost it – he screamed as he ran forward, fists ready to strike. He got no closer to the throne than a few feet before he was blasted away onto his back, Barthandelus' barrier holding him at bay. The others ran to his side, Lightning and Hope kneeling down to help him. Vanille and Sazh already had out their weapons, Fang rushing forward with her lance to block the others behind her.

"Think! Where is the real Serah?" Lightning's words bore into him. He knew it couldn't be truth – he refused to believe it.

"Hey, listen," Sazh said, the baby chocobo began to squeal in excitement as it danced on Sazh's gloved hand.

"It isn't real. It's just fal'Cie smoke and mirrors," the older man advised, overcoming his own reservations about the scene he just witnessed. Hope put his hand on Snow's shoulder, his weapon in his other hand.

"Yeah, they don't work wonders, they play tricks," he said. He clicked his wrist and the boomerang unfolded in his hand. Lightning helped Snow to his feet before readying her own weapon. They stood, all in a line, before the laughing Barthandelus.

"At last, my errant l'Cie," the humanoid fal'Cie began. "Men fight men. Men battle beasts. Cocoon wars with Pulse." The old man stood up. "There can be no end to such conflict. But Cocoon's end is imminent and inevitable. Will you not at least slay Orphan and make it quick? As an act of mercy?" The mechanical owl that had been circling above began to descend, slowly dropping down to throne level.

"Mercy? You mean murder!" Lightning sneered at the old man. The others gave their agreement as she continued. "And Cocoon won't die. We're not here for that," she said. "We came for you!" The blade of her saber was pointed directly at the fal'Cie's head.

"Such willful insolence. Disappointing. You prolong Cocoon's suffering," the old man said, beginning to hover as he shook his head in frustration. He was hovering higher than the throne, looking down on what he saw as nothing more than insects that were far overdue for a squashing. "And to what end? Refusing me but condemns another to face your Focus tomorrow. If you truly seek salvation, then you will obey!" The mechanical owl did a final lap around the room before rising up and flying directly into the glowing staff that Barthandelus held above him. In a bright flash of white light, the old man was no longer there – in his place was something that resembled a marble statue that had been given life. It was adorned with numerous open mouthed faces, lined with gold, a single face in the center that was larger than any of the l'Cie themselves. A halo of silver steel wings adorned either side of the fal'Cie's head, giving it an evil yet angelic appearance.

"What the hell is that?" Snow cried out, the six l'Cie's mouths agape in shock and awe.

"That? That's Barthandelus' last stand!" Lightning announced, rushing forward with her blade. Each of the l'Cie sprang into action like a well-oiled machine – Hope casting powerful magic to enhance everyone's powers, while Vanille cast her own magic on Barthandelus to weaken him.

"Your efforts will be futile, l'Cie, for I am fal'Cie!" the numerous faces on the gargantuan creature bellowed.

"I'll wipe that smirk right off your face!" Lightning said as she landed in front of the center face, slashing across its mouth with her saber. He cried out more in irritation than agony, beams firing from the open mouth. Lightning leapt into the air, barely dodging the attack. Barthandelus was charging up another blast when gunshots echoed through the room, elementally charged bullets striking him in the cheek.

"Take that, you bastard! I'll show you to use tricks on me. My son will grow up and become a man like his father, protecting his family!" Sazh yelled over the gunfire. The baby chocobo chirped excitedly from inside his bushy Afro, staying out of the line of danger. Sazh was suddenly hit by a shockwave from one of the other faces, however, landing on his side.

Fang leapt into the air and brought down her spear, digging it into the forehead of one of the marble faces. The blades only pierced shallowly, but gave her the ability to throw the creature's aim off as it attempted another blast at the fallen man. Sazh managed to get up, firing his guns once again.

"Can't keep a good man down!" Sazh said as he nodded his thanks to Fang. She was losing place in the stone, so she again launched herself into the air to land on yet another marble face. She was able to dig in a little deeper, causing Barthandelus to miss Snow by just a hair. He rolled away from the misguided beam, and then quickly got up, charging Barthandelus. He reached the center face and began punching wildly, the way he would have punished a punching bag.

"Snow! Get out of the way!" Lightning shouted, landing in front of the center head once more, slicing across the large nose and just barely missing Snow's arm. "Switch with me! Trade blows!" she ordered. "Right!' Snow acknowledged, punching the massive face while Lightning recovered from her strike and got ready for another. Just before she landed another strike, Snow dodged, the two of them repeating their teamwork.

The four cables from Vanille's rod landed on the back of one of the angelic wings on Barthandelus' head. Hope threw a powerful surge of lightning through the cables; Barthandelus' smaller faces crying out in pain.

"Look out!" Fang screamed at them, peeling off one of the heads and sending it crashing to the floor, its face locked in a permanent scream.

"Way to go!" Sazh praised as he finished off another one of the heads with charged blasts from his shotgun. It was more powerful than using his two guns in dual pistol mode, the blasts more erratic and stronger than small single fire bullets.

"Two down, two to go," Fang grinned. The fight was going easier than she expected. One head was gone from each side of the beast, with only one more remaining per side, and then the massive one in the middle. Loud screams suddenly filled the air.

"Vanille!" Fang screamed, watching helplessly as the younger woman was thrown into the air, the cables refusing to release as Barthandelus jerked his head in the opposite direction. That was just enough to tear everyone's attention away, small laser beams blasting into Lightning and Snow's chests, sending them sprawling. Vanille finally landed back on the ground, knocking Hope down with her. Fang and Sazh rushed to their sides, helping them up.

The group had started out strong, overtaking their foe quickly, but he was beginning to find his niche and upped the ante. Laser beams continued to launch randomly from the eyes of the remaining faces, keeping the six l'Cie on their toes. Dodging so much left them unable to counterattack, leaving Barthandelus free to charge a stronger attack from his center face.

A sound like an atomic bomb echoed through the room as the blast that emerged from Barthandelus was fired off. Everyone was knocked on their feet, except for the two youngest l'Cie. They were in front of the others, holding hands and yelling as they struggled to keep up the magical barrier that saved them all from death. Just when they thought they might pass out from exertion, the beam stopped. The two kids fell backwards, but did not pass out.

"Recover! We got this!" Lightning assured them, the four adults taking charge. Hope and Vanille crawled to the side, their energy and power vastly worn out from the concussive blast.

Lightning found her inner acrobat as she leapt from face to face, landing powerful sword blows with every movement. Snow jumped into the air and onto Barthandelus' back, hanging on to the back of his head. He began to pound mercilessly with his fists, sending small shockwaves into the massive brain of the fal'Cie. Sazh's elementally charged bullets peppered the front of Barthandelus, the older man taking care not to hit his comrades. Fang was again leaping into the air like a dragoon, digging her spear into the back end of Barthandelus' body over and over. The giant creature screamed in anger and pain with the barrage of attacks.

Rage fueled the massive fal'Cie, his body beginning to glow with golden light. Snow was thrown off of the fal'Cie's back as it reared up high, revealing giant arms with clawed hands.

"Oh shit!" Lightning exclaimed, leaping away from the suddenly larger foe.

"We have to retreat!" Sazh cried, as several beams of light began to fire from the creature, its arms swiping down as well to catch them off their feet. They ran back until they were once again with the teens, out of Barthandelus' reach.

"What now?" Fang asked, breathing heavily. Everyone was looking at Lightning, waiting for an answer. The de-facto leader, it was up to her to make the call. Explosions filled the room as the oversized claws tore into cables and clockwork.

"We can't stop. Not now. We've come too far," Lightning said to her friends.

"Yeah, you're right, but we're overpowered here," Sazh pointed out. "We're running out of strength. We can't keep this up."

"He's right," Hope said softly. The others turned to look at him.

"What are you saying?" Vanille asked, confused.

"Maybe you lost your mind, kid. We're in this to win it you know," Fang scolded him. There was no way she was giving up. It wasn't in her nature.

"No, he's right. We can't keep this up. We are running out of strength. He knows it," Snow agreed with his younger comrade and lover.

"That's why we go full force," Hope suggested. More confused looks met his eyes. "He thinks he has won, right? So lets go full force. We give it all one last go. Our most powerful attacks and magic, no holding back. Give it everything, and we can beat him."

"I think I was wrong. The kid hasn't lost his mind, he's just plain bonkers!" Fang said, her mouth turning into a wide grin. "I like it."

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Snow asked. Hope shot him a glare. "Okay, I get you. Full force, all of us," he said, holding his hands up in defense.

"I can use Death against him, but I need time to charge it up" Vanille added. "If he is weakened enough, it should finish him off. Just keep him off of me."

"This is insane!" Sazh cried, throwing his hands in the air.

"That's why it's gonna work," Lightning smiled triumphantly. "Everyone get ready. Attack him with everything you have, and when Vanille says she's ready, get out of the way." Lightning met each one of their gazes, her eyes boring into them with determination and trust. "And Fang? One more thing. He isn't a kid. He's a man." Fang looked embarrassed as Hope smiled his appreciation to Lightning. It was about time she recognized him as such. He had come a long way from being the boy he was when they met.

"Alright! Let's go!" With the final order from Lightning, the group sprung into action once more.

"Again you attack, but why? You waste your energy and power when you should be using it to bring your salvation!" Barthandelus bellowed. They answered him with a barrage of attacks.

Sazh fired the strongest shotgun blasts he could, channeling every ounce of elemental energy into every shot, yelling in rage at the giant fal'Cie. Hope cast a spell that none of them had seen before – several large orbs of pure white light launched into the air and fell back down in loud squeals, exploding as they collided with their target.

Barthandelus screamed in agony, thrashing his arms about. His thrashing was stopped only when Snow landed on the back of his head again, this time with a shockwave so strong it made the fal'Cie's entire body shudder, its head slamming down onto the floor with a loud crash. That was the moment Lightning thrust herself forward, her sword charged with thunder, slashing maniacally through the air, sparks flying every time the blade connected. Booms of thunder sounded as the charged blade surged with power and into the body of their foe.

Fang screamed as she was landing from her highest jump, Snow flipping forward onto the ground and grabbing Lightning by the arm, running to Sazh and Hope, the four of them in a huddle. When Fang landed, her spear drove deep into the back of Barthandelus' neck, cracking his head. His cries of pain and rage filled the room, so loud that with the exception of the Pulsian women, they were all covering their ears.

"Fang! Now!" Vanille cried, the older woman leaping away just as a solid black orb of energy found its way from Vanille's arms into the crack of Barthandelus' head. Loud explosions echoed as the powerful Death spell began to tear the fal'Cie from the inside out.

"Hey! Put a lid on it!" Sazh demanded as the screaming fal'Cie's cries pierced their ears. It reared up one more time, still screaming, but its whole body glowing a metallic blue.

"Release! At last, release!" Barthandelus ordered, beginning to fall backwards and sink into the massive silver pool of liquid. With those final words, the Death spell finished its job and silenced the enemy; Barthandelus' shattered face disappearing into the water.

"At last. Its done," Lightning said, the six l'Cie gathering before the pool to watch their adversary sinking away. Sighs of relief came from all around.

"All right!' Snow shouted, pumping his arm in excitement. Fang and Vanille traded high fives, Sazh bent over with his hands on his knees in exhaustion.

"We did it, huh?" Snow asked, grabbing Hope and hugging him.

Something didn't feel right to Lightning. It wasn't over, she knew. No, there was still a fight left, and they had just used up their last bit of strength. Their eyes raised to the sky as the mechanical bird appeared again.

"It's that bird again! It didn't die with him!" Hope cried, pointing at the owl. Their eyes followed it as it dove into the pool of water before them. The world began to shake violently as the water turned gold, and flashes of light filled the room. They heard a voice speak to them. Something was coming from beneath them.

"A haven, yea. Yet it must fall ere we be saved," the voice announced. The water was bubbling, flashing gold and white, something starting to emerge from it. "Too frail a shell, and humans should not thrive." The voice was eerie and similar to Barthandelus'. As the light began to stop flashing, they were able to see what was coming out of the liquid.

A giant onyx fist rose into the air and slammed down in front of them, shaking the floor. "Too stout a shell, and they would not die. Slaughter and salvation!" When they could regain their stances, they could all see what their new foe looked like.

The new beast, or demon, or whatever it was continued to speak. It had two faces, one looking like onyx with glowing red eyes, a pointed chin, and of course the large fisted arm. The other occupied the right half of the creature; a pure white like porcelain, feminine featured, with a much smaller arm with a golden helmet, green eyes glowing from inside of it. Behind the entire beast was a giant golden dial, much like the clockwork from the very room they were in. The spires were long and pointed, but did not move. Behind that was a second much larger dial with numerous faces surrounding it, each face spinning and tickling like clocks, the larger dial with longer, more ornate spires, the entire ornament slowly clicking as it spun.

"Two irreconcilable Focuses we bore. Yet bound were we in a cocoon prison, impervious to our power. And so we thank you, for granting us out longed for birth." The demon was long winded and seemed to enjoy its own voice radiating through the room. When the light and steam cleared, a third head revealed itself stuck between the other two. It was also porcelain white with a gold helmet of some sort, but its eyes were solid gold and similar to an insect.

"Dysley?" Snow questioned, wondering if they had truly defeated the fal'Cie.

"No. Not anymore," Sazh answered, staring up at the gargantuan demon. It began to speak again, all three mouths emitting creepy voices.

"We are the Abandoned One, born but now to die. Our name is Orphan. By your hand, the world shall know redemption," it said, spreading its arms apart, golden wings spreading behind the right side of the creature as it did so. It sank back lower, the three heads and the arms above the rim of the pool, the remainder of its mysterious body still in the pool beneath. As it settled into its position, it began to chuckle from the three heads, eyes gazing at the six l'Cie before them.

Before anyone could speak, it opened its clawed fist and generated a black orb of energy, purple and pink tendrils of power reaching out to attack the being's adversaries. They cried out in pain and agony, collapsing on the ground in weakness. They had used up too much of their energy and power to defeat Barthandelus, they had nothing left to face this new foe. Fang was the only one still up, though only on her knees as she gripped her spear, dug into the ground like a pole.

"Have you ever paused to consider our reason for making l'Cie of men?" the being asked. It spoke using all three voices in perfect unison. "We fal'Cie are crafted for a single purpose and granted finite power to that end. With men, it is not so. Men dream, aspire, and through indominateble force of will achieve the impossible. Your power is beyond measure. We take l'Cie that we might wield such power. Through you, we obtained the freedom from our bondage. And now, your Focus alone remains. Defy it, and all will be for naught. Cocoon's sacrifice, and that of Gran Pulse as well."

Orphan raised its onyx arm, forming a glowing orange sphere that it sent down, snatching up Hope and firing shocks of energy into his body. He screamed in agony and pain. Vanille, Fang, Lightning, Sazh and Snow watched helplessly as he was levitated above them and in front of Orphan.

"Yet, if we but summon the Maker, we will be granted the chance to begin again. All our sins absolved, and the world – born anew. Submit, l'Cie! Become Ragnarok! Lead us into the light!" Orphan commanded, shocking Hope more and more. He continued to cry out in pain, writhing and screaming. They watched on, helpless.

"Stop it! Let him go!" Fang demanded, standing on her feet.

"We have no need of flawed l'Cie," Orphan said, casting her demands aside. He glared at both Fang and Vanille, condemning the two women who failed their former Focus.

"Stop it! Leave him alone! Take me instead!" Snow's deep voice took them all by surprise as he, too, stood up to confront the demon.

"Snow, don't!" Hope managed to cry out, but his voice was silenced with more shocks to his small body. Orphan paused, considering Snow's proposal before finally accepting and threw Hope to the ground, leaving him sprawled on the floor. "Ragnarok. The will to guide a world unto oblivion. Can you bear the sin of our salvation?" Orphan was actually asking a legitimate question, not taunting the man in the least.

"You heard me. I said I'll do it!" Snow shouted at the beast, meeting eyes with its demonic onyx half.

"You can't! It's too much! Please, don't do this!" Hope cried, getting to his hands and knees and watching the scene unfold before him. "If you become Ragnarok it might kill you! You can't leave us, you're part of us, Snow! Part of you and me!" the teenager continued his pleas to Snow.

"I know. Trust me, I know!" Snow announced, flexing his fist in his other hand. "I want to protect you! All of you! And Serah! I know she's still alive… " he yelled, suddenly wondering what the hell he was doing. It was insane, to take on the form of Ragnarok and think that by doing so, he would spare everyone else the responsibility and sin. But wait – if he didn't do it, one of them would, and he couldn't bear that. There would be nothing else to decide. He should save all of them from the Focus and the fear and the pain. But if his desire and love to protect his friends, especially his boyfriend, was true, then why was he getting ready to drive his fist into Hope's fretful face?

Hope's eyes were closed, tears streaming down as he awaited the pain that never came. He looked up to see Fang had grabbed hold of Snow's arm, Sazh the other, and they were wrestling with Snow. Lightning and Vanille stood in front of Hope, their arms outstretched in protection.

"What do you gain from hurting Hope? We're in this together! What's wrong with you!" Lightning shouted, her confusion flowing. Snow began to calm down, his body trembling. What was he doing? This was the man he loved and he had raised a fist to him. He was going to hurt him. What was happening to him? Why would he let himself do that?

"I have to do this Light! If I don't someone else has to! I don't know what's happening to me… I- I'm already changing I think!" Snow shouted, shoving the others away. He looked down at Hope, his eyes filled with apology – for hurting him, for deserting him, for everything. His head was awash with confusion, nothing made sense. It had to be because of the fal'Cie. It was contorting his thoughts and his mind.

"He's filling up with the power of Ragnarok! Anger and rage, despair and sadness! Ragnarok thrives on it, so Orphan is filling his head with it. This isn't really him, you know he would never hurt Hope, not by choice!" Vanille shouted to the others. It may not have been she who had previously become Ragnarok, but she knew the legends and the tales – the transformation would take a complete mental change as well as a physical one.

"No!" Serah shouted through glass so thick that she was neither heard nor seen. She had been watching the entire scene below, the fight with Barthandelus, the rise of Orphan. She felt helpless. She couldn't find her way out of the prison of the cradle, instead she only found the room she was in, watching the entire scene. She had to dismiss Valefor as she weakened considerably from the power of the cradle, so she was alone and frantic. She had no weapon. Her power wasn't yet under control or focus. All she could do was watch as Hope was tortured until Snow offered himself in sacrifice, but then she became confused when he prepared to attack him. Her pain and anger were overpowering but she managed to keep it in control. Even though she didn't like it, she still did not want Snow to hurt Hope, nor for the two men to destroy what they had. She just had to find a way to do something!

Snow leapt into the sky, the heat of power surging through his body and overtaking him. Orphan watched as the man allowed himself to land on the ground, forcing the power to stay within him. Snow looked around at his friends. Sazh, Fang, Vanille. All four of them were C'ieth. Golems, soulless and miserable.

"What did you do to them? Where are they?" Snow asked, horror filling him. "Make them human again! This can't be real!" Except for Hope.

"After all we went through to get here! We've come too far for this to happen" Hope cried falling to his knees. He watched as the four C'ieth approached Snow and began to hit him, their massive arms slamming his body over and over.

"I'm sorry, Hope! I didn't mean for this…" Snow muttered between blows. "Is this what you meant by bearing the sin of salvation?" He asked Orphan as he fell to the floor. He couldn't even bear to look back at Hope, whose eyes he knew would pierce his soul and destroy his last bit of resolve.

"Please… stop!" Hope pleaded with Orphan and the C'ieth. They ignored him, finally falling atop Snow's battered body. "Stop it!" Orphan's only response was hideous laughter from its three faces. "Give them back!" Hope demanded. He wanted his friends – his new family – to return to him. He wanted Snow to recover his senses and hold him in his arms in safety. Snow began to scream from under the pile of golems.

"Salvation is born of sacrifice – miracles of misery," Orphan said, Snow raising into the air and glowing with orange energy emitting from his brand. "From shattered shards, a new crystal legend will arise." In a flash of light, Snow changed form, no longer a man, but a large beast.

The Ragnarok form of Snow stood, his body with metallic armor matching that of Shiva's, but with a masculine ruggedness that fit his more muscular body. His hair was wild and the face beneath was that of a lion, a beast seen only in zoos from long ago. He stood on four legs like an animal, growling like one as well. His clothes were missing, his body covered in fur instead. Hope stared in horror at the thing that replaced the man he loved.

"Yes!" Orphan cried as Ragnarok roared, leaping up onto the force field that protected it. "Let anger be your strength!" Ragnarok continued to scratch and tear at the shield, roaring. "Despair! Despair and save us all!"

The shield finally shattered like glass, shards flying everywhere. "Lo! The day of wrath is come!" Orphan cried in triumph. Its death was imminent!

But no, it would not come. Flashes began to invade Ragnarok's mind. Memories. First there was the memory of Hope and Snow's confrontation in Palumpolum, Snow saving the teenager from a falling death. Then there were flashes of Hope's battle against Alexander, his victory! More flashes of memory – their trip to the Springs. Holding Hope in his arms in the water, keeping him from drowning. Their intimate talk. Their arrival in Oerba. Meeting together in the house in the city, making love. Their conversation the next day. The fight in Eden. Snow's fight with Lightning that led to his expression of love for Hope. The two men exchanging wristbands before diving into the heart of the cradle. His head began to clear as the memories surged through his mind. _Anger didn't drive us. We just had things worth fighting for. Each other. Our friends and families. Our freedom. Everything! _he thought. Ragnarok was fading. Falling to the ground.

Snow woke up on his back, staring away from Orphan. His body had returned to normal, his clothes returned.

"Yet again!" Orphan said with venom. "How many times must you fail?" He was referring, obviously, to the l'Cie as a whole – Fang and Vanille had failed five hundred years before, and now Snow, too, had failed. He felt coolness on his body as the feminine half of Orphan blew a spell upon him. Healing. Another force from Orphan dragged him into the air by his arms, keeping him suspended in front of the fal'Cie. He groaned – his body was still aching.

"Just let us all go," Snow pleaded. Orphan ignored him. "Retake the form of Ragnarok. Deliver us that which we have too long been denied!" Orphan ordered. He sent powerful orange energy flow through the mans body, trying to force his will. Snow screamed in pain, but when the pain stopped he was again filled with the coolness of healing.

The healing never lasted for more than a second, however, as he was electrified again and again, the vicious cycle of torture and healing continuing.

"What do you want?" Snow asked, breathing heavily. He looked down to see Hope staring back at him, his eyes filled with tears of hopelessness.

"Steep yourself in hatred. Let it infuse your soul with the strength it craves. Your awakening demands an offering of pain!"

Hope stood up and approached Orphan. "Hope… run!" Snow ordered, running out of energy.

"No! I'm not weak! I'd rather fight and lose than give up without even trying! Orphan! You think you are winning but you won't. Our resolve is too strong! Snow, I'll help you or die trying!" Hope argued. Suddenly blasts of energy came from behind him, hitting Orphan all over its body. Hope turned around to see – it was Fang, Vanille, Sazh, and Lightning. They were back! And human!

Snow was tossed aside as Orphan screamed. Fang caught him, helping him back to stand on his own feet. Hope ran to his side without hesitation.

"Hmph. Miracles out of misery. You've got to be kidding me," Sazh scolded the agonizing demon.

"Yeah Snow, you're not dumb enough to believe that, are you?" Vanille joked, sending her own cooling healing through the man's body. "Come on, let's get you back on your feet."

"Sure, we've all had better weeks," Lightning said, approaching her friends.

"You're all alive!" Hope cried in happiness. "How! You were C'ieth! Big lumbering golems…" Snow argued, not understanding their return from C'ieth.

"Could be more fal'Cie smoke and mirrors," Lightning suggested.

"No time to be sorry," Fang interrupted, turning to face the man she just caught like a rag doll.

"We made you go it alone," Lightning lamented. She held out her hand. Snow took it in a handshake.

"If you weren't C'ieth then where were you?" Hope asked, still a little confused.

"Somewhere cold and dark, just thinking about everything that happened up until now," Vanille answered. "It was lonely and sad and painful. But all of a sudden it was like-"

"It was like I could see the future. Everyone was happy and laughing," Fang continued. "Serah was there too, and even Lightning was having fun." Lightning turned around with a look of non-amusement at the latter comment.

"I don't know, it was a new Focus or something.," Sazh added. "You know, I'm thinking, didn't really make sense of course. I mean, knowing we were worm bait and all, but… as luck would have it, next thing I know I feel somebody pushing me right along." The chocobo peeked out of his afro, cheering and fluttering his little wings, Hope and Vanille waving to him as he dove back down into his nest.

"You were there too, Snow. Same side. All of us," Lightning addressed the man. "Together to the end."

"You know we all promised each other, we all agreed to stick together and protect each other, and save Cocoon," Hope said, meeting eyes with his boyfriend and smiling.

Orphan continued to explode and scream as it cracked and fell back into the same water from whence it came. The l'Cie stood before it, watching intently. It was then that they noticed their brands had all changed – they were covered in white – like a scar. Just like Fang's had been from the start.

"The brand of a l'Cie. The symbol of the Focus we all faced. The mark of the fate we all shared. Proof of the promise we all made," Vanille spoke as if in hindsight. She had never sounded so mature as she did at that moment.

Orphan was not done, however. It returned from the pool, this time a gargantuan disc, shining a brilliant gold and silver, its face like a porcelain doll, waiting to be shattered. It had no limbs, just a large floating head.

"The heroes never die," Fang teased Snow with his famous lines. "Come on, we've got a job to finish."

"If we have the power to destroy Cocoon, then we have the power to save it. You say you want your day of wrath do you? Well it's coming right up!" Hope added, addressing the monstrous being.

"Its time we gave the people what they really want," Sazh chimed in.

"We can do it. I know we can," Vanille encouraged. She smiled at the chocobo chick, who made another brief appearance with cheers before nesting once more. "We made it this far. Let's make a real miracle happen!"

"Lady Luck sure ain't on his side!" Snow returned Fang her tease, utilizing her own words for once. The two traded smirks and winks as they recognized their respect for one another. The two of them had been a team from early on and Fang had been there for him and Hope both. They deserved to josh each other.

Orphan began to laugh in a childlike manner as it finally moved into place. "You overreach yourselves." It had one head but spoke with the voice of three.

"No. We overreach you," Lightning taunted the being. She was tired of all this talk and self involved bullshit from these beings. All of them so wordy and talkative, yet they had nothing of import to say.

"Is that so?" Orphan questioned.

"You don't believe in anything. You gave up on life before you were even born. Sat poisoning Cocoon from the inside, waiting for someone to come and destroy you!" Lightning contested. Sure, you think the end of the world is salvation. All you care about is death's release."

"So take it, and leave the rest of us alone. We don't think like that," both Serah and Lightning said in unison as Serah watched from above. Her face was red from crying, but she was feeling uplifted having seen Snow make it through his ridiculous trial and his mind return to normal. They didn't need her help now; they could finish the job on their own.

"When we think there's no hope left, we keep looking until we find some. Maybe Cocoon is past saving, but it's out home and we'll protect it or die trying!" Lightning announced to Orphan, the others taking battle stances and smiling in defiance of the porcelain deity.

"We live to make the impossible possible! That is our Focus!" Lightning pointed her blade at the being as it began to scream in rage.

Orphan's defeat came fast. Despite being exhausted, the six l'Cie pounced like wild animals. Orphan's only attacks came from magic, which Hope and Vanille easily protected the others from with their own magic. Fang, Sazh, Snow, and Lightning did what they did best – hand to hand combat. Gunfire, blade slashes, punches and kicks, stabs. They moved in a flurry of action, pulverizing the angry head of Orphan. It was barely able to attack, its focus destroyed under constant assault. With every blow, it began to crumble. Pieces of Orphan began to break off, falling into the water.

Serah watched from above as the last of the being known as Orphan began to melt, its metallic body turning into liquid, oozing into the pool of water below. The glow below the grating everyone was standing on began to fade until it was completely dark in the room. She couldn't see them anymore; she couldn't see anything at all.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Vanille squealed as she felt the floor fall out from underneath her feet. She couldn't tell whether she was floating, falling, or flying.

"Cocoon must already be falling from the sky!" Lightning replied, her voice containing just the slight bit of panic. "We can't be falling too fast, though. We haven't hit the ceiling yet."

"Well can we make a way out of here before we _do_ hit the ceiling?" Sazh asked, patting his head to make sure the chocobo was still there.

"Good idea," Lightning replied, aiming her gun at what she was assuming to be straight up. The sound echoed off of the walls, ringing in their ears, the night sky becoming visible in the small hole in the ceiling. Fang somehow managed to get her body closer to the hole and jammed her spear into it, turning and pushing, prying the hole wider and wider. When it was finally big enough for them to fit through, she began grabbing for hands. The night sky provided just enough light for them to see each other. She led Lightning and Sazh out first, followed by Hope and Snow. Vanille and Fang crawled out last, but didn't push off from the roof.

"Come on! We have to stay together!" Lightning ordered. She had already gotten Sazh's hand on one side and Hope's on the other. Snow was holding Hope's other hand and reaching out for the Pulsian women. They simply looked up and smiled.

"You know what we have to do," Fang said softly as she gazed into Vanille's eyes. "Are you ready?" Vanille nodded her head, tears already forming at the corners of her eyes.

"Vanille! Fang! Hurry!" Snow was calling out to them with urgency in his voice.

"Please, go on. We have to stay," Fang said.

"What? This is crazy! What are you talking about you have to stay! Come _on_!" Sazh added in. Vanille shook her head.

"I'm sorry. We can't go with you! We have to do this!" Vanille shouted. Fang and Lightning met eyes, their look communicating everything.

"She's right, we have to let them go!" Lightning cried. "They have a mission to finish!"

"No! There has to be some other way!" Hope screamed, tear already streaming down his face. He let go of Snow's hand and began thrashing about in the air, making his way to Fang and Vanille.

"Oh, Hope! No! Go back! It's going to be okay!" Vanille screamed. Hope didn't listen, he kept moving toward them, not wanting to let them go from the group.

"Kiddo, we got to do this, and you gotta take care of that boyfriend of yours! You know he can't take care of himself, so you hold to your mission and we'll hold to ours." Fang said sternly. Hope was only an arms reach away when he felt strong arms pulling him back. Snow.

"Take care of him," Fang ordered. Snow held on tight to the young man, which was not an easy task since he was thrashing about.

"No! Please! Don't go!" Hope cried, reaching out his arm. Vanille looked at Fang, knowing if she looked at her young friend she would take his hand. Snow kept holding him tight, kicking with his legs to force himself back toward the other two l'Cie. Hope kept calling out, trying desperately to get away.

"Hope! You have to let them go," Snow said softly. He was holding onto the boy so hard that Hope was actually starting to feel light of breath. He was gasping for air between screams and cries. He realized that it wasn't just lack of air, but he was tiring himself out. He didn't want his friends to go. He loved Snow with all his heart, but these were his friends, too. Vanille he hd become especially close to, being the first one to tell his secret to, being there for him from the moment everything started. It was Vanille who had kept him going up through Lake Bresha and into the Vile Peaks before he took off with Light. It was Vanille who had convinced him that things would be alright, that he needed to face his fears and confront Snow about his mother. Vanille had become like a sister to him, and he didn't want to let her go.

"We have to go, kid. You take care of each other," Fang called out as they fell farther away. Lightning had ahold of the back of Snow's coat while he held on to the older boy, trying to calm him. His body was giving up, he was short on air, light headed from crying and screaming, his voice raw. He couldn't even be heard anymore as he called out Vanille's name over and over, his voice not even making noise. Snow was crying as well; sad to see their friends go, but sad to see his young mate in such pain. He knew just how much Vanille meant to him – they were the best of friends; that didn't come easily. Lighting and Sazh were trying to keep cool heads, saying very little as they felt their bodies begin to fall, and a strange kind of coolness coming over them.

They were beginning to crystallize. Lightning felt her self grow heavy, her limbs aching when she tried to move. She couldn't even feel her toes or fingers anymore, her hair was turning rigid and cool. She knew at any moment all four of them would be crystal.

Hope continued to scream hoarsely, his breaths ragged as he felt himself growing heavier, feeling everything slowing down around him. He felt Snow still holding on to him, heard loud noises he couldn't recognize, bright flashes of light below him. He started to ask what was going on, but he felt himself suddenly grow very tired, his body giving in to the sensation of exhaustion. The last thing he remembered was feeling very cold, rigid, and as he closed his eyes he looked down at Fang and Vanille, watching the two women lace their fingers together, and seemingly melt into one another the way Orphan had melted away, and in their place a large creature with multiple arms stood, roaring. He then fell asleep, or passed out – he never would know which.

Snow refused to let go of Hope, even with the strange sensations running through his body – coldness, rigidness, feeling his hair go solid, his joints ache as they locked into place. They were going to be crystal forever, and if that were the case he wanted to at least have his man in his arms. Hope had passed out not even a half minute before Snow felt the sensations start in his own body, watching in awe at the creature that stood in Fang and Vanille's place – Ragnarok. Behind him, Sazh and Lightning were almost entirely crystal, only their faces remaining flesh. He called out to them but before they had time to respond they were solid. Snow stared in horror, but then began to wonder why he wasn't finished crystallizing when the others had. Then a bright blue flash of light filled the sky, blinding him.

"Serah?" Snow asked the air. Before him was Serah, her body decrystallized. She appeared from somewhere he couldn't see – most likely a door or hatch from further down the building. She looked as she always had, but her face was red from tears and her body only slightly beaten. She had been in a fight, but won. She looked across the sky to Snow, holding on to a smaller crystallized person.

"Serah! Is that really you?" Snow called out. He was beginning to solidify more, only his head still flesh. Serah smiled at him.

"Snow! I love you, but I have to help them. I can't come back with you. I know about everything," Serah lamented. Tears fell from her eyes, and from Snow's. He still loved Serah, she would always be his first love, but it was a different kind of love than it used to be.

"Serah, I- Serah, I'm sorry!" Snow cried. "I couldn't save you! I couldn't make everything okay! I'm sorry!" Serah kept smiling at him. Her eyes were bright with a soft glow, her tears sparkling in the moonlight.

"Don't be sorry, Snow. Everything is going to be okay. Join the others, you finished your Focus," Serah explained. "I have a new Focus now, and your safety is part of it."

"What? Wait! What are you-"

"Snow, don't be upset. I have to help you all. What I have to do – it's for the good of all mankind. I'll keep everyone safe, just like I promised in the beginning. Just like we promised. I'm not mad. I'm going to be just fine, I promise you!"

"Serah don't go!" Snow screamed. He couldn't move, his arms locked in crystal around Hope, his legs too solid to kick. Serah reached out and touched his face with her fingertips.

"Oh, Snow, I wish I could stay. But I have a job to do. And so do you. Take care of him. Protect him, keep him safe just like you did for me," Serah said softly, a strange kind of sadness and happiness filling her eyes at once. "He'll take care of you, too."

"No! Serah don't go!" Snow screamed. The words were lost, however, as he finally solidified, the four l'Cie solid crystal, falling down slowly from the sky. The last thing he saw as his eyes were going solid was Serah, merging into Ragnarok, wings sprouting out of the back of the beast reflecting her Eidolon as the other two were represented. Mighty Ragnarok, the power of Bahamut, Hecatoncheir, and Valefor, the three guardians of Cocoon and Pulse combined to save humanity.

"Wake up," a soft voice whispered into Hope's head. Just as the sweet feminine voice repeated her command, he felt his head recollect itself. He started to feel a warmth over his body, the ache in his joints fading away, his skin softening to normal, his hair blowing in the wind, the warmth finally giving way to the faint cool breeze over his naked body. He looked around, saw Snow opening his eyes, watched as the warmth filled him too, letting his naked body touch the ground once again. He felt a strange sensation as the fabric of his clothing began to reappear on his body. Behind him, Lightning and Sazh were just waking up, their clothes reforming no sooner had they set foot back on solid ground. He looked around, no sign of Vanille or Fang anywhere.

"They did it," Lightning said, coming up behind him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "They really did it, they saved the world." The four looked up high before them, Cocoon still suspended in the air. It had gone dark, Phoenix no longer providing light inside Cocoon, but the daylight of Pulse bathed them all. Holding Cocoon up was a crystal – a crystal so gargantuan that there were no words to describe it. It sparkled shades of purple, orange, and pink in the sunlight, the giant column seeming to sprout directly out of the ground, reaching up to hold Cocoon up in the atmosphere. More crystal snaked around the satellite, holding it securely in place, like a giant hand grasping a globe.

"Wow, it's beautiful," Lightning said, feeling in such awe that she couldn't even bring her voice above a whisper. "They did it. They saved the world. Vanille, and Fang."

"And Serah," Snow added, approaching Lightning.

"Serah?" she asked.

"I saw her, Light. Before I crystalized, I saw her. She said she had a new Focus, something she had to do," Snow explained. "I- I tried to stop her, but-"

"You know there's no stopping Serah," Lightning smiled, a tear falling from her eye. "Somehow… I knew. Like a dream, I saw her in my head. Serah, and a beautiful Eidolon.

"When she left she said she loved us and wanted us to take care of each other. Then she faded into Ragnarok with the others," he went on.

"Do you think she knows?" Hope piped in.

"Yes, she does," Snow answered, almost sadly.

"Even if she does, I think she's happy," Lightning surprised them all by saying. "She's happy to know her big lug is going to be taken care of."

"You really think so?" Hope asked. He was beginning to feel the guilt set in – had Serah joined Ragnarok out of despair over losing Snow? Had she always known she would do it? "I hope.. I hope she isn't sad in there," he added, referring to the core of the crystal pillar, where somehow he knew she and Vanille and Fang had to be.

"No, I don't think she's sad. I think she's happy – she helped save the world, she saved her hero for once," Lightning said.

"I never knew her, but I bet she would be happy knowing you're safe and can lead a happy life even without her. I know I would be," Sazh offered. The chocobo chick was fluttering about his head, excited. Obviously he had not crystallized with them, not being a l'Cie, but he had been perched atop a solidified Sazh, the cold crystal beneath his tiny feet. The return of his friend and transportation made him the happiest bird around.

"Sazh! Look!" Hope shouted, pointing toward the crystal pillar, jumping up and down. "Look! Sazh! It's-"

"Dajh!" Sazh shouted in glee. He wasted no time in running ahead, his son the only thing in his sights. The chocobo cheered loudly, flapping his little wings for all he was worth. Dajh was laughing and running toward his father and the chick. "Oh Dajh! It's you! Oh god son, I thought I would never see you again!" the middle aged men wept openly, hugging his son tightly.

"Daddy! I missed you!" Dajh replied, his own tears of joy falling down his young face. The chocobo danced around them both, chirping and cheering, bouncing from Sazh's head to Dajh's and back and forth. Finally he was reunited with his intended owner and buddy.

"Amazing. Just amazing," Snow said, staring at the reunited family. "But how?"

"He's a Cocoon l'Cie. When the Cocoon fal'Cie disappeared, the l'Cie must have been freed," Lightning said. "And Serah…"

"She was a Pulse l'Cie, why was she free?" Hope asked, confused.

"The Maker. No, the goddess Etro. She had to have freed her, to help save Cocoon," Lightning answered. "That had to be it." Tears were slowly falling down her face, saddened by the fact that she never again would see her sister, but happy that she had gone saving the world.

"So Serah, Fang, and Vanille became Ragnarok, and instead of destroying the world, they saved it. Together," Hope said. "Fang the fighter, Vanille the friend, and Serah-"

"Serah, the heart," Snow said softly. He looked down at the young man standing with him. "And here with me, Hope, my love."


End file.
